A MAN who downloaded hundreds of films and pictures of child abuse has been released on bail by a judge.

David Randall, 65, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, when he appeared at Swindon Crown Court.

Randall, of Merlin Court, Oldfield Road, Westbury, downloaded the material between May 2009 and July 2014.

The court heard he had 178 pictures and movies in category A, the worst kind, 942 in category B and 675 in the least bad, category C.

Judge Sir John Royce adjourned the case to Friday, November 4, to give the probation service time to compile a pre-sentence report.

And he told him that he must also register as a sex offender, with the total time he must remain doing so determined by the sentence he gets.

An NSPCC spokesperson in South West England said: “The young people in these pictures are the victims of child abuse and the horrific experiences they endured for the images to be created should not be underestimated.

“More needs to be done to tackle this vile trade and cut this material off at the source, but even then there is no guarantee that these images will ever disappear from the web and with every click, victims are re-abused.

“If anyone is concerned a child is being abused, they should call our helpline on 0808 800 5000.”