He was the 'loner' mechanic who spent his evenings indulging a sinister obsession

By day, he was an unassuming mechanic who appeared to keep himself to himself. But behind closed doors, Nathan Bake spent his hours indulging in his sick fantasies, and helping tens of thousands of others to do the same.

The 28-year-old, from Cheshire, was one of three UK moderators of a website called The Annex. Lurking in the shadows of the dark web, The Annex was dedicated to extreme child abuse, and nothing was "off limits".

Bake went by the nickname Pink and was described as a "dedicated and active" member of the website's team. He had been second in command as The Annex's head moderator, the Liverpool Echo reports.

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The website, which was accessible through TOR software, was run by a man from Alabama in the US. The site had almost 90,000 users across the world and saw extreme material shared involving the abuse of babies and toddlers and "hurtcore", which involves violence.

Bake was responsible for managing around 30 staff members, working with them to enforce the site's rules and ensure its smooth running. Chester Crown Court heard last week how the site was first identified by American law enforcement officers on a server in Romania in 2020 before being moved to a server in Moldova.

The "sophisticated and well-structured" operation involved a "gateway" to get onto the site. This was used so new users could "gain the trust" of those managing the site before being promoted to other areas which had names like "Tots 'R' Us" and "No Limits".

In a media briefing, National Crime Agency (NCA) branch commander Adam Priestley said: "There was nothing on this site that was off limits. Everything was encouraged."

Bake, who went by the username Pink,