A dangerous paedophile who abused 12 young girls caused "incalculable" damage, police say.

Andrew Fraser targeted his victims over a 25-year period, gaining the trust of parents so he could spend time with the youngsters.

Some of his victims were as young as six or seven, detectives have revealed.

Fraser, 64, of Annan has been jailed for 10 years at the High Court in Edinburgh following a landmark police investigation.

The predator was described as being well-known in the town and regarded as trustworthy.

Detective Inspector Robin Ferguson, of Police Scotland's public protection unit, said: "This is without doubt the largest sexual offences investigation involving one perpetrator that we have ever encountered in Dumfries and Galloway - possibly even Scotland.
"This investigation identified Fraser as having abused a large number of young children over three decades."

His crimes went unreported for so long because of his style of grooming, police believe.

DI Ferguson added: "He built relationships, with the parents and relatives of the victims, before proceeding to abuse them after being seen as a trustworthy person.

"He can only be described as a dangerous sexual predator and the damage he has caused is incalculable.

"Fraser’s catalogue of abuse was uncovered when police found indecent photographs of youngsters on his computer."

Police began investigating Fraser following a tip-off that he had a collection of indecent images of children.

Officers seized a computer, hard drives and a quantity of CDs and discs.

A further search of his home uncovered devices which contained indecent images of children.

Fraser had initially faced 55 charges but admitted 17 of them against 12 girls between 1991 and 2015 when he appeared in court.

Support is now being given to his victims.

A Police Scotland statement on his conviction added: "This brings a degree of closure to this investigation for the victims and their families, albeit the impact of his behaviour will live with them for the remainder of their life.

"Police Scotland are continuing to work closely with our external partners including Social Services and NHS Scotland to ensure that support mechanisms are offered to those affected by this investigation."