Meehan abandons child porn appeal

The former fishmonger was convicted in September

The ex-partner of Shannon Matthews's mother has abandoned an appeal against his conviction for downloading indecent images of children.

Craig Meehan's appeal over 49 indecent images found on his computer was due to be heard at Leeds Crown Court.

Judge Geoffrey Marson QC allowed the appeal against two of the images and Meehan, 23, dropped the appeal against the remaining charges.

He was sentenced to 20 weeks in jail after his conviction in September.

A district judge at Dewsbury Magistrates' Court immediately released Meehan from custody because he had spent 166 days on remand.

Mother jailed

David Orbaum, representing Meehan, said the prosecution was offering no evidence on the two images.

He said: "The appellant accepts that he searched the internet for, and then downloaded, adult pornography on to his computer.

"As a consequence of these searches, indecent images of children were downloaded, all of which were deleted."

The former fishmonger was charged after the images were found on his personal computer by officers searching for nine-year-old Shannon Matthews.

Shannon, now 10, went missing on 19 February as she walked home from school.

Last month her mother Karen Matthews, 33, and Meehan's uncle, Michael Donovan, 40, were convicted at Leeds Crown Court of the kidnap and false imprisonment of Shannon and perverting the course of justice.