A TRAINSPOTTER from Trowbridge has admitted giving sexual images of young girls to children at Westbury train station.

Anthony Gearing, 55, of Berkeley Road, Trowbridge pleaded guilty to nine charges of downloading, possessing and distributing indecent photos of children at Chippenham Magistrates' Court.

Prosecutor Frank Murphy described how Gearing had given photographs, four of which contained images of sexual acts between young girls and adults, to a 13-year-old and 15-year-old boy at the train station.

The offences date back to December but Gearing was charged on September 9 and appeared at court on Thursday to plead guilty to all charges.

John Elliott, defending, described how Gearing had gone to Westbury train station for his hobby, where he ran into the two boys.

He said: "My client at this time and up to July this year was going to Westbury railway station on a daily basis. He has a thing about trains.

"He takes hundreds if not thousands of photos every year, often at railway stations with his digital camera

"On this particular day he was approached by the older of the two boys asking for cigarettes.

"Seeing my client's camera he asked him what photos he was taking and he showed him some pictures of trains."

Mr Elliot said the boys asked Gearing, a married father and grandfather, if he took other photos and Gearing said he took photos of women and girls.

Mr Elliot described how the 15-year-old boy showed Gearing a four-inch-knife and said: "This is my toy", which Gearing, who is retired and suffers from heart problems, saw as a threat.

"When the lad asked my client to get him some pictures my client agreed because he wanted to reassure himself that he wouldn't do anything to create a problem with these boys. He's a very nervous man," Mr Elliott said.

Gearing met the boys again four days later when he gave the computer-generated photos to them.

Mr Elliot said: "My client accepts now that he was extremely naive and what he did was entirely wrong but at the time he was frightened."

Gearing has been placed on the Sex Offenders' Register and will be sentenced at Swindon Crown Court after magistrates refused jurisdiction of the case.

Chairman of the magistrates Monica Johnson said: "What made these offences more serious was that you distributed them to two young boys who were vulnerable young people.

"It was almost a planned course of action. You kept returning to the station until you found these boys a second time to hand these images over."

She added: "We have decided that these offences are so serious that you should receive greater punishment than we can give."

DI Tony Bennett, of the British Transport Police in Bristol, said: "It was a very good investigation by the British Transport Police that quite obviously stopped further offences being committed in the future."

Gearing has been released on conditional bail.