Shop owner jailed over child porn

Webb was placed on the Sex Offenders' Register

A bookshop owner has been jailed for possessing more than 36,000 indecent images of children.

Police raided Philip Webb's All Things Books store in Barnard Castle, County Durham, and his former home in Richmond, North Yorkshire, in December.

The 53-year-old handed over discs to officers, saying: "This is what you are looking for", Durham Crown Court heard.

He was jailed for three years and three months on Friday, after admitting 17 related charges at a previous hearing.

'Terrifying fantasies'

Webb, now of no fixed abode, had also passed on a number of the photographs to others on the internet.

Judge Richard Lowden said a large number of the most vile images related to very young children - "indeed babies".

He said: "In distributing these images to other people who you did not know, you have engaged in the most terrifying fantasies.. for the purpose of sexual gratification."

Webb had worked with children for more than 30 years, as an activities co-ordinator with schools, remand centres and the Cub Scouts, the court was told.

He was placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for life and banned from using the internet, other than for work.