A paedophile has been jailed for downloading some of the worst images of child abuse encountered by the courts.

David Finch was arrested after police searched his old address in Paxman Avenue, Colchester, on June 27, 2019.

Officers found a Dell laptop and Samsung tablet containing 8,335 indecent images and videos, including 528 unique images in the most serious 'A' category, 1060 unique category B images and 5,499 unique category C images.

The 39-year-old appeared at Ipswich Crown Court for sentencing on Monday, having admitted three counts of making indecent images of children before magistrates in Colchester on March 16.

Prosecutor Joanne Eley said a large number of images were kept in named folders and included the abuse of babies and toddlers.

Miss Eley said a total of 78,948 files remained uncategorised, adding: "It's fair to say, if every image was graded, the total number would be at least doubled."

A further 5,000 files were graded 'unconfirmed' – or deemed indecent by one police force, but yet to undergo assessment required by two other forces before being added to the police database.

Miss Eley said examination of peer-to-peer software on Finch's laptop found indecent search term entries dating back to 2017, while indicative search terms were also found on an Xbox and a Samsung laptop inside the property.

Simon Gladwell, mitigating, said Finch was a man of previous good character and had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.

"I accept, on behalf of Mr Finch, that these are really serious and quite grotesque offences," added Mr Gladwell, who said Finch had engaged well with the probation service and sought counselling.

He said Finch was sacked from his warehouse job following news of the offences in the local press and had since moved to Brandon, in Suffolk, to effectively take on the role of unpaid carer for his parents.

Judge Rupert Overbury told Finch: "This has probably just scratched the surface of what you were up to over a number of years.

"The images are amongst the worst this court encounters. How anyone can get any pleasure out of seeing that defies logic."

Finch was jailed for 14 months, made subject to a sexual harm prevention order and will have to sign the sex offenders' register for 10 years.