A paedophile with one of the worst records a judge said he had ever seen launched a court bid to work with teenagers.

Mark Jenks, 50, who has 20 convictions stretching back 30 years, wanted the age limit banning him from contact with children lowered to 16. He also said he wanted to visit his nephew's baby unaccompanied.

Jenks was jailed for six years in 1999 for indecently assaulting a ten-year-old girl and boy on the beach at Southwick. At the time, Judge Anthony Thorpe described the former printer as one of the most dangerous paedophiles he had ever dealt with.

He was released on licence in 2002 but arrested for indecently exposing himself in front of two 13-year-old girls at Camber Sands in July this year.

Jenks, of Brunswick Terrace, Hove, was jailed for three months after Hastings magistrates heard he had been watched by undercover police.

On his release in August, magistrates banned him from contact with any under-18 unless authorised by the police. He appealed against the ban at Hove Crown Court yesterday.

Jenks also asked to be allowed to see babies up to the age of two so he could have contact with his nephew's unborn child.

Russell Jenkins, opposing the application for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "It is suggested that, as the age of consent is 16, extending restrictions beyond that age would be unfair. This has nothing to do with the age of consent. These victims did not consent to this type of conduct.

"The purpose of this order is to prevent further offences and to protect the public from suffering serious sexual harm in the future."

Simon Wilshire, for Jenks, said: "The only reason he makes this appeal is because of the effects the order has had on his efforts to find work. Because young people leave school to find their first job at 17, he has found the order means he cannot get work because he is likely to come into contact with people under 18."

Jenks told the court he had applied for a job with a printing company and as a labourer since he was released from prison. He had been turned down because he was likely to come into contact with apprentices who were under 18.

He added: "I have never offended against anyone aged between 16 and 18 or any members of my family.

"I feel the order is an injustice because all I want to do is get work and lead a normal life. I have been on a rehabilitation course and have shown I want to get on and not reoffend."

Judge Geoffrey Mercer, sitting with two magistrates, dismissed the appeal, saying: "We are entirely satisfied the terms of this order are necessary to protect the public."