Pervert ex-cop behind bars after travelling from Midlothian to Cumbria with plans to abuse child

Matthew Roy drove from his home in Gorebridge to a single mother’s home in Cumbria after a sick online plot saw a string of perverts sent to the woman’s front door.

In May, Stuart Westwood was jailed for eight years after setting up dozens of fake profiles on dating websites.

Posing as the woman he invited strangers to her home to participate in sexual acts with her and her young son.

Believing he was talking to the woman, Roy (60) moved the conversation to WhatsApp where he made suggestions of sex acts he wanted to perform on the woman and with her young son.

On July 30 last year, the woman was monitoring her CCTV on her iPad when she saw Roy walk up to her door. She immediately called police and he was arrested.

Roy, who served with the Lothian and Borders force, had driven more than 170 miles to the woman’s house in Barrow-in-Furness.

He was jailed at Preston Crown Court after pleading guilty to two counts of attempting to arrange or facilitate child sex offences.

Roy tried to dodge a jail sentence by claiming to have suffered mental health problems from being a first responder to the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

However, sentencing judge Robert Altham said he had been shown no medical evidence to back up the claim.

Roy was also placed on a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will be on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.