AN 85-year-old former Catholic priest admitted sexually assaulting seven children, including altar boys, after spending 20 years on the run in Spain.

Francis Paul Cullen was extradited back to the UK to face the charges after being traced to Tenerife.

Dublin-born Cullen pleaded guilty to 21 charges at Derby Crown Court committed between 1957 and 1991.

The offences, on children aged between six and 16, took place while Cullen was a priest in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.