Paul Kidd's victims may come forward

Detectives say more victims of former royal butler Paul Kidd may come forward after he was jailed for carrying out a string of sex attacks on children.

Kidd, 55, was given an indeterminate sentence and will serve a minimum of six years after admitting 29 counts of abuse on three young boys over a 32-year period.

He was brought to justice after one of his victims saw him in the M.E.N. boasting about working for the Queen and Queen Mother in an article for the 10th anniversary of Princess Diana's death.

The victim, abused as a child by Kidd in the 1980s, alerted police.

They found nearly 19,000 images of children on a computer and disc when they raided Kidd's home on Castlehall View, Stalybridge.

Police then traced two more of Kidd's victims after finding a video of him abusing one.

Speaking outside Minshull Street Crown Court Det Con James Teggart revealed the case may see more who suffered at Kidd's hands come forward.

He said: "GMP's door is always open. I can't give enough thanks to the witnesses who had the courage to come forward. There may be more."

Sentencing Kidd, Judge Mushtaq Khokhar said he held his victims 'under his spell'.

He struck up relationships with the youngsters over long periods of time.

He took one to have tea with the Queen Mother at Clarence House and another to Old Trafford after spotting him dressed in a Manchester United kit.

One of his victims was a young patient he met while working as a trainee nurse at Tameside General Hospital in the 70s.

Another, a young teenager, was groomed after meeting Kidd via a CB radio in 1981.

The third met Kidd in 2004 when he was 12 or 13 and was abused several years later.

Kidd was senior footman to the Queen Mother from 1979 to 1984 and previously worked as a royal butler to the Queen from 1977.

He also stood as a candidate for the UK Independence Party last year and worked on cruise ships, giving after-dinner speeches about his time with the royal family.

Judge Mushtaq Khokhar told him: "You were someone who had influenced your victims to such an extent they were under your spell.

"They would do anything you asked them to do. I regard you as someone who is dangerous and presents a risk to all the young people you may come across."

He gave Kidd an indeterminate sentence and recommended that he remain in prison for at least six years for public protection until he could be considered for parole.

Earlier, the victims sat in silence as the sickening details of Kidd's attacks were read out. It took almost an hour for the prosecution to go through them.

Kidd, in a blue checked shirt, spoke only to confirm his name. He sat arms folded throughout and often glanced at his watch.

When arrested he told police of his fate: "I'm going to leave it up to God."

A friend of Kidd's, David Hobday, 57, of St John Street, Dukinfield, was jailed for three years after admitting six counts of sexual activity with a child Kidd introduced him to.

Manchester Evening News