A MAN who had hours of depraved footage of children being sexually abused stored on his computer has been spared a immediate jail term.

Tony Gammon had hunted, downloaded and then carefully stored films and pictures of children being molested by adults.

But after hearing the 28-year-old, who thought the brutalised youngsters may grow up to live normal, happy lives, is suitable for sex offender treatment programme a judge imposed a suspended sentence.

Gammon had been accessing the vile material from his computers for about five years before police raided his home in December 2012.

Claire Marlow, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court that officers with a warrant went to the address after receiving information someone there was accessing the material. They seized Gammon’s laptop, desktop and 11 floppy disks which were found to have the pictures and films stored on them.

It was also discovered he had been putting terms into search engines as he tried to access the images of children being abused.

When he was questioned he told police there were ‘only a handful of pictures and videos’.

Miss Marlow said: “He had looked for them and put them in to files on his computer. He said he also visited image boards which had prohibited material, in cartoon form, of children.’’

She said most of the material related to children under the age of 13, with the youngest being just a year old. Of the 464 images found she said 26 were movies, two being 51 minutes long and four others more than 17 minutes.

Gammon, of The Rosary, Royal Wootton Bassett, pleaded guilty to five counts of making and one of possessing indecent images of children. He also admitted having 249 prohibited images of children in the form of sexualised cartoons.

James Burke, defending, said as a result of the offending he had lost his job at a factory picking and packing engine parts, where he had worked for six years.

The presentence report ‘indicates he has cognitive defect as regards sexualisation of children’, he told the court.

“That is something that could be targeted by his participation on the work programme with the sexual offenders group being proposed by the probation officer,’’ he said.

“The risk he poses could effectively be managed, the report indicates, in the community.’’ Mr Burke said Gammon had never been in trouble with the police before and lived with his parents.

Passing sentence, Judge Peter Blair QC said: “These are despicable offences which you have committed which the law takes a very serious view of.

“Even as a first offender you are exposed to the very real possibility of going to prison for having the material.’’

He imposed an eight month jail term suspended for two years and told him to complete a sex offenders' programme. He also imposed a sexual offences prevention order for five years and told Gammon he would have to register as a sex offender for the same period.