A disgraced Scottish councillor who pleaded guilty to serious sexual offences has reportedly been living in Wiltshire.

Clydebank councillor Craig Edward pleaded guilty to three serious sexual offences, involving making, having and distributing indecent images of children, on February 14 at Dumbarton Sheriff Court.

The Gazette and Herald’s sister paper, The Clydebank Post, has reported that court papers now list the 34-year-old as a resident of Calne.

Despite this, The Post revealed he cannot be forcefully removed from his West Dunbartonshire Council role.

Edward, previously of Leven View in Radnor Park, worked as a community councillor, housing association chairman, political campaigner for the SNP and Labour, and an elected councillor.

The Post reported the details of some of the abuse pictures and videos were read out in court but could not be printed because they were too extreme.

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald:

One of these images reportedly depicted a baby, clearly in “distress”, while others showed children aged five and six.

In total 599 still images, 69 of which were the most serious category A level, were recovered from an iPhone 10 seized by police executing a search warrant.

A further 69 images were deemed to be category B while the remaining 462 were category C.

There were also 93 videos on the device, all dated between September 22, 2021 and September 21, 2022.

67 of these were defined as category A, including a child who appeared to be asleep.

The investigation found that Edward did distribute or show indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children on various occasions between September 20, 2022, and September 22, 2022.

The Post reported that Sheriff Maxwell Hendry called it "about as bad a narrative as I have ever heard".

He said: "He should take time to go home and ensure his affairs are in order."

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: Craig Edward photographed for a press release from the association handing an award to a Slough car park in December 2023Craig Edward photographed for a press release from the association handing an award to a Slough car park in December 2023 (Image: BPA)

An investigation by the Post found that Edward was employed as an area manager for the British Parking Association (BPA), representing the southwest and South Wales, after fleeing Scotland for Wiltshire.

During his time with the BPA, which ensures car parks are accessible for people with mobility issues, the councillor was photographed handing an award to a car park in Slough.

Edward has been added to the sex offenders register and remains on bail to his home in England until sentencing in March.

He may be automatically disqualified from his council position if he is given a three-month custodial sentence or more.