Female care worker, 44, was member of 'sickening' paedophile ring

The conviction of a woman for sexually assaulting a baby and allowing her boyfriend to photograph the abuse has ended "one of the most sickening paedophile rings this country has seen".

Tracy Dawber, 44, yesterday became the fourth woman to be convicted of abuse and pornography offences relating to "evil" paedophile Colin Blanchard.

A jury at Winchester Crown Court took just two hours to find the community care worker guilty of the assault at her home in Southport, Merseyside, in August 2008, and allowing Blanchard to take pictures of the abuse on his mobile phone.

The case had parallels to other women Blanchard met over the internet, including Vanessa George, who abused children at a nursery in Plymouth, Devon, and Angela Allen, from Nottingham, and Tracy Lyons, from Portsmouth, who also abused children to please Blanchard.

Mother-of-two George and former prostitute Allen were given indeterminate sentences earlier this year, while Dawber, Lyons and Blanchard are due to be sentenced at Bristol Crown Court next month.