Police pledge over child abuse

The 15-month Operation Ore has come to an end

Cleveland Police have vowed to continue their fight against child abuse on Teesside, as an operation to crack down on internet paedophiles comes to an end.

Operation Ore, which involved a small team of specialist officers, has been running for the past 15 months.

It was launched after the names and addresses of about two dozen men were given to the force by the United States Postal Services.

As a result of the data, several homes were raided, and at least 60 computers seized. Thousands of discs and photographs were examined.

One suspect was found to have 79,000 images of abused children, one of the largest collections in the country.

As a result of the operation, a 43-year-old man was been jailed for four years for downloading child pornography from the internet and indecently assaulting a young girl.

Peter Hindmarch, from Ivy Grove, in Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to 17 charges of making indecent images of children, two of taking indecent photographs of a child and one of indecent assault.

Detective Sergeant Stuart Malcolm who headed the investigations said: "One operation may have come to an end, but the fight to put child abusers behind bars continues."