A former Criccieth pastor has been jailed for over 10 years after admitting over 40 sexual offences.­

Benjamin David Thomas, 44, of Coed Onn Road, Flint, a former preacher at the Criccieth Family Church, admitted 40 offences, including indecent assault and voyeurism.

The offences happened over a 29-year period in North Wales, Shropshire, London and Romania, Mold Crown Court was told.

Thomas’s crimes took place between 1990 and last year.

In July, he admitted 10 counts of sexual activity with a child, eight sexual assaults and four attempts to commit sexual assault.

He also pleaded guilty to nine indecent assaults, seven counts of voyeurism and two counts of making indecent videos of children.

Judge Timothy Petts told Thomas: “For nearly 30 years until your arrest in 2019, you hid a dark secret – namely that you were a prolific sex abuser, the vast majority of your victims being teenage boys.

Thomas worked for BBC Wales as a presenter on Ffeil, the Welsh language news programme for young people, and as a reporter on Wales Today.

He left the BBC in 2005 to preach on the streets of London, before returning to Wales in 2008 as pastor of the Criccieth Family Church.

Thomas left his post last year.