Two of the country's "most dangerous" paedophiles, who conspired to rape and murder young girls after meeting in jail, are facing long prison sentences.

Michael Williams, 47, and Paul Elkington, 49, planned to target girls aged between two and 10 after kidnapping them and taking them to an area in the West Midlands.

But their plans were thwarted by undercover police officers - one of whom spent 10 months befriending the men. They were arrested in April 1999.

Police disclosed details about the plot on Tuesday after the pair admitted conspiring with another to abduct, rape and murder, at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday.

Detective Inspector Cath Hannon, of West Midlands, police, said: "In my opinion, these are two of the most dangerous sex offenders in the country.

18-month operation

"They had planned and gone so far as buying items they would need to carry out their plan. The only thing left was for them to carry it out," she said.

She said the 18-month police operation was the biggest her force had carried out.

"We have learnt a lot about the way paedophiles operate and how we can deal with them," she said.

They met in prison while serving sentences for attacks on children. Williams served four and a half years for the abduction of a boy and a girl, while Elkington served one year more for assaulting a 13-year-old girl.

Sentencing on the pair has been adjourned pending psychiatric reports on the men.