A DECORATED soldier and dedicated youth worker led a double life as a paedophile preying on young boys from other Army families wherever he was based.

Mark Andrew Walker, from Credenhill, told detectives he was sexually attracted to young boys in war zones he served in like Kosovo, but did not abuse them because they had "difficult enough lives".

Specialist detectives had to trace Walker's victims, many of them now married with families of their own, across the country to gather evidence against him. For some it was the first time they had ever been confronted with what was done to them, let alone spoken about it.

At Worcester Crown Court, Walker, who admitted 33 sample charges of indecency against children between 1983-2005, was told that the lifelong damage his "horrifying, sordid" abuse had done to his victims was incalcuable.

Married father-of-two Walker, a 42-year-old staff sergeant and engineering specialist with medals for his service in Northern Ireland, Kosovo, and the first Gulf War, was jailed for eight years and will stay on the sex offender register for life. He is also banned forever from any contact with children without supervision.

All of Walker's victims were boys aged between five and 17. The court heard how he began abusing them in his teens before he joined the Army. He continued to target boys throughout his "exemplary" 22 year military career, grooming them through friendships with base families in Britain and Germany and his "dedicated" work with the army youth service.

Stephen Davies, prosecuting, told the court that the abuse took in all forms of non-penetrative sexual activity several times a week. Some victims were plied with drink or shown pornographic films before it began. Others were abused in the guise of playfighting or "snogging".

Most were too young to know what was happening to them.. Walker would say it was all part of growing up, the court heard.

Police began investigating Walker when one of his victims told a girlfriend about what had been done to him. This initial complaint unravelled a patten of sexual abuse stretching over two decades.

Anthony Weston, defending, said Walker had admitted "horrifying, sordid" sexual abuse. Testimonials handed to the court, however, showed him to be a "good and gallant" soldier and worthwhile family man, said Mr Weston.

His Honour Judge Andrew Geddes told Walker that society viewed his crimes with disgust and utter horror.

"The victims will carry the psychological scarring for the rest of their lives," he said.