Paedophile scout leader, 81, handed 46-year jail term

A PAEDOPHILE scout leader and school housemaster, who spent 27 years on the run using a stolen identity, has been jailed for 46 years for numerous sexual offences against young boys.

- KIM PILLING

Richard Burrows, 81, systematically abused 24 boys across the Cheshire, West Midlands and West Mercia areas between 1968 and 1995.

In emails found after his eventual arrest, Burrows described "living in paradise" from 1997 after he fled to Thailand.

Earlier that year, he had been charged with a number of historical sex offences and was bailed but failed to attend a plea hearing at Chester Crown Court in December 1997.

Attempts to locate him included several police appeals and four Crimewatch appeals on national television.