Ref. 29654-03 Kelvin Scott, pictured on the day he received the Chief Constables commendation at Wiltshire police headquarters in 1985A FORMER policeman will avoid prison after he admitted downloading internet child porn.

Kelvin Scott, 52, of Dryden Place in Wootton Bassett, was placed on the Sex Offenders' Register by Swindon magistrates yesterday.

He admitted three counts of making and one charge of possessing indecent images.

Downloading pornography is classified as making an image because it creates a new version.

Scott served as a policeman in Wiltshire between 1978 and 1995, when he was forced to take early retirement for health reasons.

At the time of his arrest, in October 2002, he had been working as a civilian for Wiltshire Constabulary.

He later resigned.

Rob Welling, prosecuting, told the court officers raided Scott's former address in Malmesbury Road, Kemble, and seized computer equipment.

"Forensic analysis found a large number of indecent images in unallocated space within the computer," said Mr Welling. "A disc was also recovered containing three images.

"By downloading porn you are giving it an extra dimension."

The court was told the images warranted a "seriousness level" of four out of five.

In normal circumstances, the law books recommend a prison sentence of between six months and a year.

Ian Kelcey, mitigating, described his client's actions as a "one-off error" and said he had stumbled on the site after a pop-up message appeared on the computer screen, diverting him to a website containing the sick images.

Mr Kelcey said: "This is not a man who is involved in paedophilia.

"He had put the images on disk, intending to report it to the police. He then got cold feet."

Mr Kelcey said Scott deeply regretted his actions and wished he had reported the images immediately.

He told the bench: "Any sentence is going to be second to the one he feels right now.

"As a result of his arrest he felt obliged to resign from the police and he has had to face his family, friends and colleagues."

Mr Kelcey said former colleagues who were watching the proceedings from the public gallery had come to show support for Scott.

He said: "These charges normally bring a sense of contempt. But in this case he has received a lot of support that tells you a lot about the man he is."

In 1985 Scott received a commendation from the Chief Commissioner for talking down a man from the roof of a house in Crudwell.

Chairwoman of the bench Margaret Penfound granted Scott unconditional bail and told him she was not considering sending him to prison.

Addressing Scott she said: "You had cold feet but your motives were honourable."

Wiltshire Police spokeswoman Jacqui Broadbridge said: "Kelvin Scott was a police constable with Wiltshire Constabulary and left due to ill health.

"We are committed to investigating all allegations regarding people who use the internet to either access or download images of children being abused."

Scott is due to attend court again for sentencing on Thursday, April 15.

Yesterday's case echoes that of Pete Townshend, former guitarist with rock band The Who. Last May, he was cautioned for downloading child porn.

Townshend claimed he was researching child abuse and the availability of child porn. Police accepted his reasons were genuine but said this did not constitute an excuse.

Kevin Shoesmith