A 40-YEAR-OLD Dursley bus driver who was expecting to be sentenced today for a catalogue of child sex offences has had his case delayed because a judge wants a probation service report on him.

Last month when Martin Smith of Olive Grove, Dursley, admitted six indecency offences - including trying to arrange to meet a young girl in Buckinghamshire for sex - the judge agreed with the defence lawyer that a pre-sentence report was not needed.

But today Judge Jamie Tabor QC, sitting at Gloucester Crown Court, ruled that a pre-sentence report was necessary to help with an assessment of the risk Smith poses to children in future.

He also said that the medical reports on Smith for which the case was adjourned last time were inadequate for the court's purposes.

He ordered that a psychiatric assessment of Smith is carried out by one of the two NHS mental health nurses attached to the court.

But he warned Smith that unless the reports say something extraordinary a prison sentence is 'inevitable.'

"A judge has to, above all, address risk in the future to other children," he said.

"That is quite a difficult task for a judge alone. There are trained probation officers who can assist in that regard. That is what I am going to ask happens.

"Contrary to the defence saying it did not want a pre-sentence report I believe one is required in this case to address risk."

Smith has admitted making 732 indecent images of children between August 2010 and April 2017; making another 222 images between the same dates; distributing 21 indecent images to others between April and August 2015 and taking indecent photos of a child between September and December 2015.

He has also admitted attempting to arrange or facilitate the commission of a child sex offence between February and April this year in Aylesbury.

Finally he admitted distributing 18 indecent images of children between February and April this year.

Defence solicitor Gareth James said at the last hearing that one of the mental health problems affecting Smith is post traumatic stress disorder.