A WREXHAM lawyer has praised new laws that will allow British paedophiles who abuse children abroad to be prosecuted in Britain - even if they have not broken the law in the country where the offence took place.

Robert Williams, a partner of Wrexham law firm Gwilym Hughes and Partners and a member of the Association of Child Abuse Lawyers, said: “In some countries it is not an offence to have sex with a child who is under 16, nor is it illegal to have indecent images of children.

“But under these new laws perverts could be prosecuted on their return to the UK.

“Hopefully this will make abusers think twice about their actions and make a significant difference to a great many young lives.

“It could prevent victims from having to go through the mental torture as well as the physical damage they will suffer from abuse.

“Every one of the child abuse victims I see, even if they are no longer children, finds the hardest step is to tell someone what has happened to them so that their predators can be caught and prosecuted.

“Often they have tried to talk to people at the time of the abuse who were insensitive in their response, or did not believe them. When that happens it can take years for the victims to pluck up the courage to talk about their experiences again.”