LATE Northleach music museum owner Keith Harding is believed to have been a part of a notorious paedophile campaign group, it has been reported.

Keith Harding, owner of Keith Harding's World of Mechanical Music in Northleach, died in June of this year after losing his battle with bowel cancer.

According to the BBC, he was part of the Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE) and linked to child abuser Jimmy Saville.

He was convicted of indecent assault against four children aged eight and nine in the late 1950s and was a 'schedule 1' offender, meaning his convictions remained on his police file for life, the BBC reported.

Born in Nottinghamshire, Mr Harding was educated at Oakley Hall in Cirencester before moving on to Haileybury College in Hertfordshire.

In 1987, he and his wife and children moved to Northleach and he started up Keith Harding’s World of Mechanical Music.

Mr Harding died on June 7.