An 18-year prison sentence has been handed down to a man who sexually abused four of his stepchildren, in what's said to be the worst case of its kind in Manx history.

The 58-year-old was sentenced at Douglas Courthouse this afternoon, after being found guilty of over 30 counts of different types of serious and violent sexual abuse on Friday.

The offences were committed between 1974 and 1984, with the victims, three females and a male, aged between four and 14 at the time.