A former Bermuda Police officer has been jailed for eleven years for a string of sex attacks in Wales.

Lyndon Lewis, 58, who came to Bermuda in the early 1970s and left around a decade later, was found guilty of 22 sex offences against three boys ? and was branded "disgusting" by a judge.

The abuse came to light when a drunken Lewis followed a teenage boy into a pub toilet and made a sexual request.

Lewis, of Blaenavon, had been a "pillar of local society" and was nicknamed "the Vicar" according to a report in the Western Mail.

But last week he was ordered to register as a sex offender for life by Cardiff Crown Court.

Defence lawyer Ronald Christie said: "He had an exemplary work record and from beginning to end was a pillar of local society. He worked for Gwent Police for 20 years, as a magistrate's clerk in Gwent, and was a town clerk.

"He is a lay member of his local church ? a person looked up to and trusted."

Lewis, who was working as a civilian police vetting file clerk, was found guilty of six serious sexual offences, 15 indecent assaults and inciting a child to engage in a sexual offence. The offences dated from 1987 and June last year.

Judge Christopher Llewellyn-Jones QC told him: "You are an evil, corrupting and disgusting man. You had the outward appearance of being a locally respected figure. You ingratiated yourself with a veneer of respectability.

"I have watched you for eight days during your trial and you have shown not the slightest flicker of remorse or regret for what you have done."

One former Bermuda police officer who worked alongside Lewis said: "It's come as a complete surprise to me ? that side of his nature. "I knew he was gay but there were never any whispers of any peculiar behaviour to juveniles."

After working in prosecutions Lewis was transferred to the computer section where he helped implement new technology before heading back to the UK. One of his victims now in his 20s, who was abused by Lewis in the 1990s, told the South Wales Argus: "Lewis put my family and me through hell and almost destroyed my life.

"When it was happening, I couldn't tell if it was real or if I was dreaming. He's a Jekyll and Hyde character with an evil streak in him but he could be nice. He always seemed a kind, generous person.

"He was a man I used to look up to and someone who was respected and trusted. He was town clerk for a while and he did a lot of work with the church as well as voluntary work.

"He was known as 'The Vicar' ? he wasn't really the vicar but he used to help him a lot. I hope he rots in hell for what he's done. It has affected my personal life. The scars will always be there and what happened will always be in the back of my mind.

"Being in the witness box was frightening and difficult. But it was all worth it because he can't do it to anyone else and there is one less paedophile roaming the streets. "I feel justice has prevailed and it's put my faith back in the system. I'm just glad it's all over and Lewis got what he deserved. I'm a lot happier now that it's over and I'm trying to put it all behind me, pick up the pieces and just get on with my life."