A DISGRACED former Reading Borough councillor has been jailed after admitting to a string of child sex offences.

Richard Willis, who was a Conservative representative for Thames and Peppard between 2001 and 2015, was sentenced to 16 months at Lincoln Crown Court.

The 51-year-old also worked for Rob Wilson, who until recently served as MP for Reading East.

Willis, of Cuphbert Close, Quarrington, admitted to two counts of making and one count of taking indecent images of children.

He is expected to serve eight months of his sentence in prison and the other half on licence.

The Tory councillor served the Thames Ward between 2001 and 2004, before returning as the Peppard councillor for eight years until he joined Lincoln Town Council.

Willis served as a member for Lincoln from February 2016 after leaving Reading, but handed in his resignation in April for personal reasons.

He was arrested in December and later convicted after admitting to sharing the images on WhatsApp and Facebook.

A spokesman for Reading Borough Council confirmed he served as councillor on Thames Ward between 2001 and 2004 and later Peppard Ward between 2007 and 2015.

A 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order was also handed out by the court on Friday, June 9.

The Reading East Conservative Group have been approached for comment.