A PERVERT who downloaded more than 6,000 pornographic pictures of children has been jailed for four months.

Father-of-one Thomas Hoare, 49, admitted 21 offences of possessing indecent images – amounting to a total of 6,274 pictures.

The sickening material – which included images of torture – was discovered after police searched his home at Water Hill Lane, Sowerby Bridge, on November 13 last year and seized his computer.

Gerald Hendron, prosecuting, said a separate hard drive was also confiscated and when analysed was found to contain a file named “Personnel”, which had sub-folders full of child pornography.

Hoare was arrested and admitted having the images. He told officers he had been looking for child pornography two to three times a week and spent two to three hours a day looking at the images.

Mr Hendrom said: “The breakdown of the images are 5,919 at level one, 213 at level two, 61 at level three, 341 at level four and 15 at level five, which involved sado-masochism, torture and violence.”

Hoare, an engineer of previous good character, told officers he regretted what he had done and wanted help.

Bradford Crown Court heard that he was divorced with an 11-year-old daughter.

“It is not suggested in this case that he ever distributed or manufactured any images,” said Mr Hendron.

Tamara Pawson, for Hoare, said: “From adult sites, there were links to child sites – he viewed those initially out of curiosity and they got the better of him.”

He has been referred to a psychologist and is being treated for depression.

Miss Pawson said: “He is ashamed because of what he has done. He accepts he helped to perpetrate the exploitation of children involved in this.”

Judge Robert Bartfield told Hoare: “It can be said that possession of this material involves no direct assault by you on any child but, of course, the children concerned have to take part in those images to satisfy the appetites of somebody like you.

“If people controlled their appetites there would be no market for that and children would not be forced into the position of having to become involved in those activities.”

He said immediate custody was the only option.

Hoare, of Lowerfold Apart-ments, Bull Green, Halifax, was made the subject of a sexual offences prevention order, which stops him accessing internet sites relating to children.

He was put on the Sex Off-ender Register for seven years.