A sex offender who tried to avoid jail because of illness died from cancer in his prison cell two months later, an inquest has heard.

Roger Haynes, 71, of Church Lane in Gorleston, was jailed for 50 months on September 13, 2019.

The father-of-one, who was separated from his wife, was found with more than 300,000 indecent images and videos of children during a police check in 2017 and was put on the sex offenders’ register.

Mr Haynes’ sentencing hearing at Norwich Crown Court heard he was suffering from a terminal illness and he was sent to L wing at Norwich Prison on Knox Road, which is a hospital wing, where he died on November 24.

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Maureen Bacon described it as a “depressing” diagnosis and accepted he was now only receiving palliative care.

She told him: “This court can make no judgement about your health.”

She said she had to impose a jail sentence for such “serious” matters and said: “I accept your health may mean that this sentence is frustrated.”

At an inquest hearing on July 7, at Norfolk Coroner’s Court in Norwich, area coroner Yvonne Blake concluded Mr Haynes’ death as natural causes.

His medical cause of death was recorded as bile duct cancer.

MORE: No ‘get out of jail’ card for seriously ill sex offender found with 300,000 indecent imagesHe was put on end of life care after arriving at Norwich, went to the prison gym, as well as receiving visits from his family and healthcare professionals, according to Det Con Pete Williams, from Norfolk Police.

Giving evidence, Mr Williams said: “In the last two days of his life things took a downhill turn.”

Mr Williams said the 71-year-old had a ‘do not resuscitate’ order and had suffered with melanoma cancer for the past eight years. In 2018 his cancer had spread to his lymph nodes and bones.

Paula Taspon, a healthcare assistant on the prison wing which treats up to 15 people at a time, said Mr Haynes’ breathing was shallow after checking him at 5.30am on November 24.

After several checks, he was not in pain and he died at 6am that day, according to the healthcare assistant.

Louise Richards, an assistant for Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, said: “The clinical care he [Mr Haynes] received was equivalent to what he could have received in the community.”