A 33-YEAR-OLD man caught with 2,000 indecent images and videos of children on his phone and other devices has avoided jail.

Sebastian Morgan, of Queen Street, Chedworth near Cirencester, was arrested after Gloucestershire police received information that illegal images were being downloaded in the Cheltenham area.

Speaking at Gloucester Crown Court on Thursday, prosecutor Nadeem Aullybocus explained how the IP address was located to Morgan's home, which led to police calling at the property in the early hours of March 23.

There was no response but officers went back a short time later and woke up Morgan, who immediately offered up his mobile phone and two other devices.

His phone contained 912 videos, which totalled 39 hours, and 14 still category A images.

There were 301 category B videos which ran for 10 hours and nine still images plus 232 category C videos which totalled six hours and 564 still images.

"One video of a prohibited image was also found along with three still images and six extreme videos of bestiality and one image," said Ms Aullybocus.

Simon Goodman, defending, said his client, who has worked in financial services for 11 years, has taken steps to deal with his pornography addiction since his arrest.

“Morgan has contacted the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, a charity dedicated solely to preventing child sexual abuse on numerous occasions," he said.

“By doing this he has demonstrated he wants to do something about the problem that he now knows he has, and his attitude has accordingly changed.

“He was caught having only been downloading these images for two months. He realises that just over 2,000 images and videos equate to a large number of victims.

“A short period of custody would not have any material benefit to him whereas a community-based sentence would."

Morgan admitted possessing 926 indecent images of children in Category A, 312 in Category B and 796 in Category C along with four prohibited images and seven extreme images for two months prior to March 23, 2023.

A three-year community order with 40 rehabilitation days and 200 hours of unpaid work was imposed along with a five-year sexual harm prevention order limiting his internet use and including sex offender registration for the same time period.

He must also pay £520 in costs plus a mandatory surcharge.