By REBECCA DAVISON, DEPUTY HEAD OF SHOWBIZ

Published: 14:42 BST, 18 August 2026 | Updated: 15:35 BST, 18 August 2026

Scottish actress Phyllida Law has died aged 94 at home surrounded by her loved ones. 

Phyllida is mother to actresses Emma and Sophie Thompson and starred in Jane Austen’s Emma and voiced a role in Nanny McPhee. 

The news was confirmed by her manager, Jacky Leggo on Tuesday, who said the star ‘died supremely peacefully at home, surrounded by all of her family’. 

She was born in Glasgow in 1932, and was accepted at Bristol Old Vic Theatre school – initially to be a stage designer but then changed to acting. 

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She met her husband Eric Thompson while starring in Bristol Old Vic productions in the 1950s – they married in 1957, having just £30 between them. 

Emma Thompson’s mother Phyllida Law has died aged 94 ‘peacefully at home’, (Pictured in March 2010) 

Phyllida wearing her Officer of the Order of the British Empire award, with daughters Sophie Thompson and Emma Thompson (R) after the Investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on November 11, 2014 

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They lived in a crumbling Georgian property in Kensington with a sign on the lavatory: ‘No Solids From This Facility.’ 

Her career began on the TV in the late 1950s, with appearances on Dr Finlay’s Casebook, Dixon of Dock Green and The Troubleshooters. 

She later had a successful film career in the 1980s, appearing alongside daughter Emma in Peter’s Friends, which was directed by Emma’s then husband Kenneth Branagh.

She also starred in Much Ado About Nothing and Jane Austen’s Emma alongside her other daughter Sophie. 

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Phyllida and Emma played mother and daughter in The Winter Guest. 

Beyond acting, Phyllida was a gifted writer who published witty memoirs and in 2014, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her outstanding services to drama and charity work.

Following news of her death, tributes flooded in. The actress’ granddaughter Gaia Wise – Emma’s daughter – wrote: ‘Rest well my queen’.

Phyllida pictured in a scene from the television drama Sad About Eddie in 1964

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Following news of her death, tributes flooded in. The actress’ granddaughter Gaia Wise – Emma’s daughter – wrote: ‘Rest well my queen’

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Other fans added: ‘RIP Phyllida Law. Very sad news. Obviously enduringly well-loved for her acting work but I also loved listening to her talking about the The Magic Roundabout’ 

Other fans added: ‘RIP Phyllida Law. Very sad news. Obviously enduringly well-loved for her acting work but I also loved listening to her talking about the The Magic Roundabout, very funny.’

‘Sad to read that Phyllida Law has now passed away. Phyllida starred in many great works over 8 decades, as well as the 2002 adaptation of Stig of the Dump, filmed near my hiraeth place. Thoughts are with her daughters Emma and Sophie & other loved ones.’  

Emma previously spoke about their close bond and how they drew strength from one another when her father suddenly died of a heart attack aged just 53.

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Eric was best known for devising and narrating The Magic Roundabout. 

Emma said: ‘Our relationship is unusual, and the reason is that there’s three of us in the family left now, me, my sister, and my mother, because my father died when my sister was 18 and I was 21.

‘Now I think if my father was still alive, it would be very different. I mean, we know mum so much better because we spent so much time together.

‘We’re far closer-knit because of that event in our lives – also we’re three actresses who always had to earn our own living. We’ve never been supported by anyone.’

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By RACHEL BOWMAN, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER and RACHEL SHARP, CRIME CORRESPONDENT

Updated: 15:24 BST, 18 August 2026

Lindsay Clancy’s mother-in-law testified that she was ‘begging for help’ months before she strangled her children.

Patrick Clancy’s mother, Sue Clancy, told the jury that Clancy confided in her about her mental health struggles.

‘She was begging for help,’ Sue said, adding that the family was very concerned about her.

Clancy, 36, is on trial for the murders of her three children, Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan, at her home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, in 2023.

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She strangled her children with exercise bands and then allegedly attempted to kill herself, but her efforts failed and left her paralyzed and in a wheelchair for life.

The prosecution rested its case against Clancy on Monday after using the first three weeks of the trial to argue the killings were intentional and well planned, not the work of someone who had lost control.

Clancy has admitted to killing her children but pleaded not guilty to murder by reason of insanity, citing postpartum psychosis, and is also suing her former healthcare providers for medical malpractice and negligence.

If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US on 988. There is also an online chat available at 988lifeline.org

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Follow along for live updates…

‘She was begging for help,’ Patrick Clancy’s mother says

Patrick Clancy’s mother, Sue Clancy, testified that she noticed a change in Lindsay in the fall of 2022.

Lindsay told her she was struggling with insomnia and depression. So she helped to connect her with Nurse Julie Paul at South Shore.

‘She reached out to me in November and told me that she felt unwell,’ she said.

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‘Mostly, she had insomnia, she was losing her appetite, she was very anxious and sad.’

When asked if Lindsay wanted to get better, she said ‘very much so.’

‘She was begging for help,’ Sue said.

Sue said that they were all very concerned about her.

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Lawyers argue over defense drawings

When the state objected to the defense’s evidence, Kevin Reddington just simply went ‘no.’

ADA Jennifer Sprague argued against a diagram that Reddington wants to introduce depicting how Clancy jumped from the window. She claimed that the drawing is inaccurate, specifically the window well.

Prosecutors have tried to suggest that Clancy clung to the window ledge and dropped to the ground that night rather than jumping.

This goes toward the state’s doubts around her suicide attempt.

The defense aims to show that she jumped headfirst from the window. Clancy was left paralyzed from the waist down from the fall.

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Prosecutor asks grandmother if she is aware that ‘murder is considered a mortal sin’

In a tense moment, the prosecution asked Sue Clancy if she was aware that ‘murder is considered a mortal sin.’

‘Are you an active member in the Catholic church?’ the prosecutor asked.

‘Yes,’ Sue answered.

‘So you are aware that murder is considered a mortal sin,’ the prosecutor continued.

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington quickly interjected, ‘Objection!’

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After sidebar, the judge told the jury that the answer and question were stricken and that hey should not consider them.

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Patrick Clancy’s mother called to the stand

The first witness called to the stand by the defense today is Patrick Clancy’s mother, Sue Clancy.

‘Lindsay married my son Patrick and they had a very good relationship,’ she said.

Sue said she had a ‘very good relationship’ with Lindsay Clancy.

‘She was very nurturing, very loving, she was a wonderful mother,’ Sue said.

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‘She loved her children, all of them, very, very much.’

When asked about her relationship with grandkids, she choked out one single word: ‘Beautiful.’

She would visit the grandkids roughly twice a month, she said.

As a nurse working in the labor and delivery room for 38 years, she was aware of postpartum issues in women.

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Court is in session

Lindsay Clancy, dressed in a pink blouse and her hair in loose waves, has been brought in and seated at the defense table.

Her parents, Mike and Paula Musgrove, are seated with a family friend and Dr Paul Zeizel.

Her former father-in-law, Chris Clancy, is a couple of rows behind with his priest.

There are around 15 members of the public here today – less than yesterday – but more members of the media who are here for the first time.

Court kicked off with a sidebar with the attorneys.

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Read full list of Lindsay Clancy’s Google searches in final weeks before she killed her children

Four days after making these disturbing searches on her phone, Lindsay Clancy would attempt to kill herself after strangling her three children.

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Inside the secret lives of Lindsay Clancy’s silent parents

A GoFundMe for Lindsay Clancy’s parents, Mike and Paula Musgrove, has raised nearly $1 million.

The intensely private Connecticut couple who lost all three grandchildren at their daughter’s hands have nevertheless remained beside her through everything that has followed.

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Patrick Clancy’s parents arrive at court

Patrick Clancy’s parents, Sue and Chris Clancy, are waiting in the corridor outside the courtroom.

Sue is expected to be called as a defense witness today.

This marks the first time she has attended the trial.

Chris was at the courthouse for one day earlier in the trial, when the prosecution called him as a witness.

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Clancy was not aware of Andrea Yates case, according to colleague

Margaret Hamp recounted a time when Lindsay Clancy was working when a patient was admitted who had plans to harm herself while pregnant.

‘We had a conversation. Lindsay was brand new; it was the summer she had just started, and we had a conversation about mental health in pregnancy and postpartum,’ Hamp said.

‘I asked her if she ever heard of the Andrea Yates case, and she hadn’t.

‘I explained that to her, and she cried, and she said, “How could a mother hurt her children.”’

Clancy’s case has been compared to Yates.

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Yates drowned her five children in a bathtub in Texas in 2001. Her attorneys said she suffered from postpartum psychosis and believed killing her children would save them from hell.

Her initial murder conviction was overturned, and in a retrial she was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a state mental hospital.

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Clancy confessed to having thoughts of harming the kids, her mother said

Paula Musgrove testified that her daughter, Lindsay Clancy, previously told her and Patrick that she had thoughts of harming the kids.

In December 2022, Clancy’s mom told the jury that there was a moment where Clancy said she had to tell her and Patrick something.

She was very nervous, she said. ‘She told us she had thoughts of harming the children,’ she testified.

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Musgrove said she began to notice a change in Clancy around October 2022. She added that Clancy did not appear to improve through November and December.

In one text exchange from October, Clancy asked: ‘Mom, will you please come up and stay with me for a bit. I’m really sick.

‘Something is wrong. I had horrible insomnia all night, and I just don’t know how I’m going to get through the day.’

Clancy continued: ‘I started taking the medicine my doctor prescribed for anxiety, and I think it’s made things worse. It’s just really scary, and I don’t want to be alone.’

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Lindsay Clancy’s sister recounts ‘gut feeling’ before tragic killings

Lindsay Clancy’s sister, Allison Ozga, testified that in December 2022 Clancy told her, ‘I’m in a really tough spot.’

‘I had this gut feeling that something was off and that she was really struggling, and I asked her if she was safe,’ Ozga said while on the stand Monday. ‘She said “yes” at that point.’

She said at Thanksgiving 2022, Clancy ‘did not look good; she didn’t seem very energized. It definitely seemed off from how I’d seen her in the past.’

By December, Ozga said, ‘She reported her mood was worsening, as she described it as depression, she was having more suicidal thoughts, insomnia continued to be an issue. She was really not feeling like herself.

‘I believe the very end of the month, she told me she had had suicidal ideation every day for a month.’

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Ozga testified that at Cora’s birthday party in January it looked like Clancy was ‘going through the motions’ and ‘still struggling.’

‘I think she looked like she was going through the motions of putting together a birthday party for her daughter. But she looked tired. She looked like she was still struggling.’

On cross-examination, the prosecution asked Ozga, a licensed social worker and mandated reporter, whether she ever felt concerned enough to report Clancy.

Ozga said no.

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The nominations for the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) were unveiled Tuesday morning, with Madonna emerging as the artist with the most nods.

Madonna, 68, is in competition for a staggering 11 prizes, narrowly beating out Taylor Swift, who has nods in nine categories.

They will be vying against each other for the evening’s top honor, video of the year, with Swift up for The Fate of Ophelia and Madonna for Confessions II – The Film.

Rounding out the category are the music videos for Hate That I Made You Love Me by Ariana Grande, Tears by Sabrina Carpenter, I Just Might by Bruno Mars and Storm by GENER8ION (starring Yung Lean).

Swift, 36, and Beyonce, 44, are currently tied as the most decorated artists in the history of the VMAs, each with 30 gongs to her name.

Inasmuch as Beyonce has no nominations this year, all Swift has to do is win a single prize in order to become the single record-holder, via the Associated Press. 

Madonna, 68, is in competition for a staggering 11 prizes, narrowly beating out Taylor Swift, who has nods in nine categories

Madonna famously performed at the first-ever VMAs in 1984, bursting from a gigantic wedding cake while dressed in a bridal gown for a rendition of Like a Virgin.

She has emerged as a reliable engine of memorable moments at the extravaganza, where she ignited a fan frenzy in 2003 by kissing Britney Spears on the lips.

Over the course of her more than four-decade career, Madonna has earned a total of 19 VMAs, meaning that in order to equal Swift and Beyonce’s current record she will have to triumph in every category in which she is nominated this year.

The VMAs will be held on September 27 at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on CBS at 7:30pm EST.

Trailing Madonna and Swift, Grande and Carpenter are tied for third place with seven nominations apiece, while Mars, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsonn each have five.

The artist of the year category is a face-off between Madonna, Swift, Grande, Carpenter, Mars and country music heartthrob Morgan Wallen.

Madonna and Carpenter have landed a joint song of the year nomination for their due Bring Your Love, the lead single of the former’s new album Confessions II.

Their rivals are Ella Langley for Choosin’ Texas, BTS for Swim, Raye for Where Is My Husband, Olivia Dean for Man I Need and HUNTR/X for their Oscar-winning number Golden from the streaming sensation KPop Demon Hunters.

Madonna’s Confessions II (The Film) is up for dance video of the year, against such competition as  Aperture by Harry Styles, Runway by Lady Gaga and Doechii nad New Religion by Bebe Rexha and Faithless.

The other nominees in that category are Dance… by Slayyyter, Stateside by PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson and Nobody’s Girl by Tate McRae.

Madonna’s VMAs coup comes after she earned a burst of critical acclaim and fan adoration for her latest album Confessions II, which was released June 5 and serves as a sequel to her 2005 smash hit Confessions on a Dance Floor.

During the promotions for Confessions II, Madonna went viral for describing John F Kennedy Jr as one of the best lovers she ever had. 

Madonna was asked to reveal her ‘best f***,’ and after insisting she would ‘only name dead people,’ whispered: ‘John Kennedy Jr.’

The Queen of Pop indulged in a dalliance with ‘America’s Prince’ in the 1980s, to the purported dismay of his mother Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

Madonna paid her compliment to JFK Jr’s bedroom skills while appearing in a video for the gay hookup app Grindr, with which she had launched a Pride month partnership as an advertisement for Confessions II.

Meanwhile, the fever-pitch publicity around Swift reached a zenith this summer with her Madison Square Garden wedding to NFL star Travis Kelce on July 3.

A consortium including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos bought close to 40% of Liverpool from Fenway Sports Group (FSG).

It was initially reported that 1892 Holdings had bought about a third of the club, but – as first reported by The Athletic, external – it is actually about 38%.

There is also an option for the consortium to buy a controlling stake in Liverpool in the next 12 months, though that does not involve a formal commitment.

In a statement on Friday, FSG confirmed it had entered into a “definitive agreement” for the sale of a “strategic minority investment” to 1892 Holdings.

The group – named after Liverpool‘s founding year – is led by British-Indian millionaire businessman Amit Bhatia and also includes Bezos and billionaire Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin.

Bhatia will become Liverpool‘s vice-chairman and join an expanded board pending regulatory approval.

The son-in-law of Indian billionaire businessman Lakshmi Mittal, he had been a director and co-owner of Queens Park Rangers for 18 years before relinquishing his stake in the club last month.

The deal is understood to value Liverpool between £5bn and £6bn.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is England skipper Leah Williamson’s omission from the top 27 ratings. The Arsenal defender was rated 87 overall in EA FC 26, but has seemingly dropped to no higher than 85 in FC 27.

Fellow Lioness Keira Walsh has also not made the top 27, but given she was 85 overall last year it’s possible that the cut-off means her and Williamson share the same rating as Park, James, Greenwood, Le Tissier and Bronze.

The biggest upgrade for WSL players goes to Yui Hasegawa at Man City (+3 to 88 OVR).

WASHINGTON (AP) — Disney filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission alleging a violation of its First Amendment rights.

The suit comes after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr recently defended the agency’s actions against ABC, saying broadcasters have a duty to “operate in the public interest” and the FCC is merely trying to restore that standard.

Carr has said the country should have a “trusted, respected news media, and we’re not there.”

ABC had accused the agency of a brazen attempt to chill its constitutionally protected free speech — and by extension, that of every media outlet in the country. The network’s July comments came in its latest filing to the agency, expressing its formal opposition to the FCC’s early review, launched in April, of eight ABC local broadcast licenses well before they expire.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to be fired. When the FCC launched its early review of ABC’s licenses in April, it came amid a fight with Kimmel over a joke that offended Trump. The agency cited diversity, equity and inclusion practices at the company.

Messages were sent seeking comment to the FCC and ABC.

The plans could extend a Cambridgeshire city

Plans could see more than 1,600 homes built to extend Ely. Network Rail has raised “significant concerns” about the proposals, saying the potential increased use of level crossings could introduce “additional safety risk”.

The Church Commissioners for England, which manages the Church of England’s investment portfolio, has submitted plans for up to 1,607 new homes in Ely. The plans are for land at High Flyer Farm on the north of Apollo Chase.

They also propose an extension to Ely Country Park and a community allotment or orchard, as well as an extension to the Chettisham Business Park. The site covers 85.21 hectares.

The applicant said: “The redevelopment of the site will contribute towards meeting the council’s housing requirements within the planned growth strategy for Ely, delivering a range of homes including affordable housing to meet local needs, alongside significant publicly accessible open space and landscape enhancement.”

They added that the plans would aim to create an “attractive, distinctive and inclusive new neighbourhood of exemplary design quality”.

The plans form part of the larger Ely1 allocation in the East Cambridgeshire District Council Local Plan for 2015, covering around 210 hectares of land and plans for up to 3,000 homes. The applicant also proposes to build two new primary schools and two local centres to “incorporate retail and community facilities”.

Concerns have been raised since the plans were submitted to East Cambridgeshire District Council in July. A member of the public said the development seems to be “focusing on just cramming more housing onto land”, which they see as “critical for future food production”.

The objector said: “We have had multiple developments built within the last twenty or so years at the expense of good quality arable farm land. Seen previous developers promise infrastructure improvements and nothing ever comes of it.” They urged to “put the brakes on this development until Ely can support it properly on non arable farm land and infrastructure to support”.

Due to the scale of the scheme, its proximity to operational railway infrastructure, the potential increase in rail demand, and the “likely impacts” on nearby level crossings, Network Rail has raised “significant concerns regarding the safety and operation of the railway network”.

The comment put forward by Network Rail states: “Given the scale of the proposal, comprising up to 1,607 dwellings, Network Rail considers that the development would generate a significant increase in pedestrian, cyclist and equestrian movements across these level crossings.

“Increased use of level crossings introduces additional safety risk and is contrary to Network Rail’s long-term objective of reducing, and where possible eliminating, level crossing use.”

Network Rail has put forward “suitable mitigation” that should be secured. This includes the provision of a grade-separated bridleway bridge across the railway, replacing the function currently served by the Clayway and Second Drove level crossings, which would aim to provide a safer crossing point for non-motorised users while reducing level crossing risk.

In a separate issue, another member of the public said that there “needs to be much more greenery” leading to the Chettisham boundary to make the Ely Country Park extension “a true country park that is additive to the local landscape”.

The objector added: “Chettisham must remain a separate entity to the city and not become part of the general urban sprawl; this can be achieved by adding a much more expansive green space, protecting biodiversity.”

Lindsay Clancy told her mother that medication was ‘destroying’ her mind and admitted having thoughts of harming her children in the months before she killed them, a court has heard.

Paula Musgrove said that her daughter was losing weight, becoming ‘paranoid’ and desperate to feel like herself again.

Clancy’s behaviour became so unsettling that she once asked if she could sleep in her mother’s bed with her.

Clancy, 36, is charged with murdering five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson and eight-month-old Callan at the family home in Duxbury, Massachusetts on January 24, 2023.

She does not deny fatally strangling the children with an exercise band but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, described under Massachusetts law as a lack of criminal responsibility.

Her lawyers argue that the killings were caused by severe postpartum mental illness rather than a deliberate and criminal act.

Prosecutors contend that Clancy intentionally killed the children before making an ‘insincere’ attempt to take her own life which left her paralysed.

Much of the trial has focused on her mental health, treatment and behaviour during the months leading up to their deaths.

Musgrove was among the first witnesses called by the defence after prosecutors rested their case on Monday. She described a conversation in which Clancy approached her and her former husband, Patrick, saying: ‘I want to tell you guys something,’ The Guardian reports.

‘She said she had thoughts of harming the children,’ Musgrove told jurors in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Patrick previously testified that his wife had made the statement but that she had said she didn’t have any plans to hurt them.

Five days before the killings, Clancy used her phone to search for ‘symptoms of postpartum psychosis’ and ‘psychosis symptoms’, jurors heard.

She had also looked up ‘how quickly does Wellbutrin work for depression’ and ‘ketamine for suicidal ideation’.

The searches were discovered by digital forensic expert Ian Whiffin, the prosecution’s final witness. He examined Clancy’s internet history, calls, messages and health data.

Musgrove told the court that her concerns had begun months earlier. On October 20, Clancy sent her a message reading: ‘I’m really sick. Something is wrong.’

Lindsay Clancy said she didn’t know how she would make it through each day and that the medicine she had been prescribed had ‘made things worse’.

‘It’s just really scary and I don’t want to be alone,’ she added.

Musgrove travelled from Connecticut to her daughter’s home and stayed for a week. She and her husband continued making repeated trips during November and December, but said Clancy’s condition didn’t appear to improve.

‘In November and December, it was not getting better,’ Musgrove testified. She said her daughter believed ‘this wasn’t her mind’ and feared the medication was ‘destroying’ it.

Clancy also told her: ‘This isn’t me. I just want to feel better and enjoy my kids again.’

Her lawyers say she experienced a broad range of depressive symptoms and sought psychiatric help before the killings.

Clancy’s sister, Allison Ozga, also testified about learning that she had been experiencing suicidal thoughts. ‘She’s feeling numb, she’s feeling hopeless,’ Ozga told the court.

Patrick previously told jurors that Clancy later spoke to him from hospital about hearing a man’s voice before the children were killed.

She said it told her ‘that if she didn’t do it now, she would lose her chance, or something like that’, according to his evidence.

Clancy also spoke to Patrick by phone while he was away from the house collecting medication from a pharmacy and picking up a takeaway.

The prosecution has used evidence about that evening to argue that her actions were planned, while the defence maintains that she was severely mentally ill at the time.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Clancy faces the possibility of life in prison without the possibility of parole. If jurors find that she lacked criminal responsibility, however, she would instead be committed to a state psychiatric hospital.

The trial continues.

The court heard that he sent his teenage victim a picture of his private parts and asked her to video chat whilst naked

A Co Tyrone man who was sexually communicating with an underage girl today narrowly avoided immediate custody and was instead handed a three-year probation order.

Matthew Leonard Kilpatrick, 31, of Sycamore Avenue in Sion Mills, had previously pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual communication with a child on dates between February 3 and February 10, 2024.

He further admitted a charge of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity on dates between February 3 and February 9, 2024.

Kilpatrick also pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing indecent images of a child on March 20, 2024.

Dungannon Crown Court, sitting in Belfast, heard that the offences all related to a girl then aged 14 referred to only as ‘T’.

Outlining the facts of the case, Judge Brian Sherrard said the offences came to light on March 20, 2024, when the victim’s mother had confiscated her mobile phone and came across live messaging taking place on Facebook from another computer where the defendant and ‘T’ were communicating.

He said in October 2023 the defendant made contact with ‘T’ online and she told him she was aged 14.

Said the judge: “You contacted her again in February 2024 and you fostered an inappropriate online relationship, much of this was made up of childish exchanges.

“The conversation also turned sexual on February 3, 2024 and it was your assertion that ‘I really want to take you to bed’. You asked if she was a virgin.”

The court heard Kilpatrick sent his teenage victim a picture of his private parts and asked her to video chat whilst naked. The following day the defendant asked for a picture of her bra.

“You said to her that you ‘wished you could join her in the shower and you wanted to see her t**s’. Again, this is just a 14-year-old child,” remarked Judge Sherrard.

The court was told that on February 5, 2024, Kilpatrick messaged the victim to say he wanted to see her bra and wanted to see her naked. He also discussed a sex dream about her.

Judge Sherrard told Kilpatrick: “You knew from the outset that you were much too old for this girl who was under the age for any sexual activity and you expressly stated that as early as the October 2023 communications.

“You also knew, it seems to me, that you might find yourself in legal jeopardy, saying on February 3, 2024, that you ‘hoped the girl didn’t report me on Snapchat’.”

The court heard the girl had also sent Kilpatrick moving and still images which related to the two charges of possessing indecent images of a child.

Judge Sherrard said the impact of Kilpatrick’s offending on the young was “significant”.

In a victim impact statement to the court, she said the offending had placed limitations on her freedom of movement, the impact it had on her education, the impact it had on her relationships with her peers and also her “anxiety around men”.

Said Judge Sherrard: “This is far from being a victimless crime simply because it occurred online. I am mindful that you did not meet the girl and the offending took place over a relatively short period.”

Judge Sherrard said he had a ”raft of papers” before him all dealing with Kilpatrick’s “vulnerabilities”.

A report from a clinical psychologist said the defendant had attended a school for pupils with special needs and had a moderate learning difficulty.

In a further report, a Registered Intermediary described the defendant as a “significantly vulnerable individual”.

In a pre-sentence report compiled by the Probation Board, the author stated that Kilpatrick had “limited insight and accountability for his actions” which added to the risk of this offending happening again and assessed him as a high likelihood of reoffending.

The court heard that Kilpatrick had encouraged the girl to hide her phone, to create a passcode on the phone and not to disclose the code to her mother.

Judge Sherrard said he had concluded that Kilpatrick had “intellectual limitations” which had some impact on his culpability.

“Moreover, those intellectual limitations also impact on the risk of future offending which is something of profound concern to me.

“There would be little opportunity for you to address your established and significant deficits after a relatively short custodial sentence and these deficits must be addressed. These are difficult cases for the court as they cry out for condign punishment but the balance in my mind has to be in favour of public protection which is the most important consideration.

“I consider this matter is best dealt with by way of a three-year probation order which will protect the public and effect your rehabilitation,” added Judge Sherrard.

Kilpatrick was made the subject of a SOPO for a period of five years and he was placed on the sex offenders register for an identical period.

The court granted a destruction order for the indecent images and all devices seized.

Sutton Bank is a key route on the county’s highway network, and regular maintenance is vital to preserve the road’s condition, protect the public and prevent deterioration that could result in unplanned disruption.

This year’s programme of works will require the bank to be closed from 7am on Sunday, September 13, until 7pm on Sunday, October 4.

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North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for highways and transport, Cllr Malcolm Taylor, said: “The works will include planned maintenance to the rock face and routine maintenance of the road. The longer scheme will also allow for further drainage and repairs.

“Carrying out these improvements at the same time will maximise the benefits of the road closure and help minimise the need for disruption to road users in the future.

“This year’s programme also marks the start of a wider programme of improvements planned over the next three years to enhance the resilience and long-term condition of Sutton Bank.”

Cllr Alyson Baker, who represents Hillside and Raskelf on North Yorkshire Council, added: “The A170 is a vital transport link for communities, businesses and visitors travelling across North Yorkshire.

“This annual programme of works will help ensure the route remains safe, reliable and well-maintained for everyone who depends on it.

“We will do everything possible to minimise disruption and would like to thank motorists, residents and businesses for their patience and cooperation while the work is carried out.”

Access to homes will be maintained whenever possible, but the nature of the work means there could be times when access is restricted.

To view the diversion routes, visit North Yorkshire Council’s roadworks map at www.northyorks.gov.uk/roadworks-map