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A rugby coach who was caught with indecent images of children has been ordered to do 160 hours of unpaid work.

Matthew Davies, 43, of Thomas Street, Gilfach, near Bargoed, coached Bargoed RFC’s under-11s and under-7s.

He appeared at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday, August 11, where he was sentenced to a three-year community order, a 40-hour rehabilitation course, and handed a sexual harm prevention order.

Last month, Davies appeared at Cardiff Magistrate’s Court, where he pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing indecent images of children and one count of possessing extreme pornographic images of animals – dead or alive. In this instance, a horse.

At magistrates’ court he admitted possessing 27 category A indecent images of children, the most serious kind which consisted of four still images and 23 moving; 11 category B of which four were still and seven were moving; and 27 category C – 21 still and six moving.

The offences were committed between January 24 and April 6 of this year, with the images and videos found on the defendant’s mobile phone.

Davies was also put on the sex offenders register for five years and ordered to pay £515 in prosecution costs.

He has also been been permanently suspended from all rugby activities by the Welsh Rugby Union.

In a statement, the WRU said: “As soon as the Welsh Rugby Union was informed of this arrest, on the day of the arrest, by the police, the individual was immediately suspended from all rugby activity pending the outcome of the investigation.

“This suspension has now been made permanent.”