A former Redruth PCSO once convicted of using his position to sleep with vulnerable women has been found guilty of raping two young girls while in uniform.

Peter Bunyan, 43, was jailed for 24 years after being found guilty on Thursday at Truro Crown Court of raping the two girls, who were aged between four and five at the time of the attacks which happened between 2005 and 2009.

He had previously been jailed for seven years for misconduct in a public office after using the police's computer system "like a dating agency" to find details of women and have sex with them, although his sentence was halved on appeal in 2013.

He was kicked out of the police force over the allegations, which included charges of having sex with five women while on duty with Camborne and Redruth Police, and even turning down his police radio to ensure he remained undisturbed.

Following the most recent trial Bunyan, a former car park worker from Penzance, was found guilty of three counts of rape and one of sexual assault on two girls aged between four and five.

His crimes, which left both victims with physical injuries, were only uncovered after one of the girls suffered flashbacks when a police officer visited her school.

Bunyan will have to serve at least half of his 24 year sentence, and sign the sex offenders register for life, and will never be allowed to live with or be in the presence of anybody under the age of 16 for the rest of his life.

In a statement, Devon and Cornwall Police said: "Peter Bunyan was a police community support officer at the time of offence and the allegation was not made until he left the organisation in March 2013. However there was no intelligence about this offence while he was employed by Devon and Cornwall Police.

"The sentence handed down at court today shows the very serious nature of the charges that Peter Bunyan faced and the force will always investigate any allegations of this nature thoroughly. The public have a right to expect exemplary behaviour from all members of the police service who are there to protect them."