A ROOKLEY man in possession of almost 35,000 child abuse images has been spared jail at the Isle of Wight Crown Court.

David Bradshaw, 63, of Dolcroft Road, appeared on Friday charged with three counts of making indecent images of children and one count of possession of cannabis.

Bradshaw had previously pleaded guilty to possessing the images, at the Isle of Wight Magistrates' Court on February 14.

It was detailed how Bradshaw was arrested after he took his laptop into a computer repair shop to be fixed, and staff discovered a hidden folder containing the images.

Speaking at the earlier hearing, prosecutor Ann Smout said: "When they opened the folder, they saw thousands of thumbnail images they suspected showed children being abused.

"They immediately called the police and handed the laptop over.

"Police discovered the laptop contained 34,638 images and videos of children, ranging from category A — the most serious kind — to category C.

"He said images of 12 to 14 year old girls had helped him deal with the break-up of a previous relationship."

Barry Arnett, defending, said: "After these charges were leaked to the public, Mr Bradshaw was repeatedly threatened and forced to move from a previous address."

"There will be quite severe implications for Mr Bradshaw. He is a man who has already lost quite a lot."

Judge Roger Hetherington gave Bradshaw a 12 month custodial sentence, suspended for 24 months.

He was also placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for ten years, placed under a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years.

He must undertake 25 rehabilitation days.

He was also ordered to pay court costs of £425 and a victim surcharge of £90.

An NSPCC spokesperson said: “The sheer extent of Bradshaw’s collection is truly appalling.

"Many of the images in it will be crime scenes showing abused children who will need a vast amount of support to recover from their ordeal.

“This case highlights the urgent need to address the online trade in such images.

"Law enforcement cannot solve this problem alone. Big tech must also be made to use their expertise and resources to quickly remove this terrible content from their platforms and identify who put it there in the first place.”