A man who paid 93p to watch a young girl being sexually abused has been jailed for nine years.

Matthew Bell, from North Ayrshire, is the first person in Scotland to be convicted of live streaming child abuse after directing the attacks from his home in Irvine.

The 51-year-old was in contact with both male and female paedophiles in the Philippines to prey on the children as he watched.

A judge told the 51-year-old, who also directed a man to rape an unconscious woman via live-stream, that he had sunk to "new depths of depravity" .

Lord Arthurson told him: "This involved abuse in the Philippines that you orchestrated and live streamed into your home by way of an internet connection.

"Those working in these courts require, in large part, to endure a daily diet of depravity.

"On occasion, an indictment comes before the court in which new depths of such depravity are plumbed.

"I have concluded that yours is such a case."

Bell will be also be supervised for a further six years on his release.

The sales advisor was caught in March last year after his computer and hard drive were analysed.

The court was told a young boy was attacked by two women in April 2016 as Bell chatted to the pair on Skype.

The hearing was then told Bell "participated in the sexual abuse" of a girl in March 2017.

He again spoke to a Filipino woman via Skype as she attacked the child.

Another girl was also targeted in a similar way around the same time.

The court heard there was also evidence of Bell "making payment for the sexual services of a child".

This emerged from a "live screenshot" during the abuse.

Mr Borthwick: "It showed Brown making a payment of 50 Philippine Piso (93p)...there is an element of bartering as the female will not continue."

The prosecutor added police cyber experts usually found images which had an accused person had instead downloaded.

He went on: "The unit is not aware of any other case involving live streaming of child sexual abuse in a foreign jurisdiction."

Police also uncovered horrific footage of a woman in the Philippines being raped in 2013 - under the direction of Bell via the internet.

Prosecutor Steven Borthwick said: "The recordings are in a split screen format with one side showing a male and female, the other showing Bell.

"The female is unresponsive and her body is limp as the sexual intercourse takes place."

The court heard Bell would have been "aware" of her stricken condition.

Mr Borthwick said there had been an "agreed plan" and that Bell "acted in concert" to sexually assault the woman.

He also pled guilty at the earlier hearing to making indecent photographs of children.

The five charges span between 2013 and 2017.

John McElroy, defending said: "He despises himself knowing what he did was wrong."

Bell - who showed no emotion during the hearing - was also placed on the sex offenders list indefinitely.

Detective inspector Susan Milloy said: "We welcome the sentencing for what is the first person in the United Kingdom to be convicted of live streaming sexual abuse.

"We received information regarding Bell in March last year and within five days had searched his address and subsequently arrested him.

"This was a challenging case for our officers in the Public Protection Unit and our Cybercrime Unit, who had to examine the footage found to establish exactly what crimes had been committed.

"Bell was found not to have only downloaded images and videos of sexual abuse, but to have incited the crimes himself via live streaming.

"It is unimaginable what impact Bell will have had on his victims in this case, many of whom were not even within the same country as their abuser.

"We hope that this conviction and sentencing send a clear message. You may think that by sitting in your home live streaming abuse that you will not be caught, but you will.

"We are continuously gathering information and intelligence with a wide range of partners.

"Make no mistake, we will come after anyone who is committing these heinous crimes, no matter how long it takes."