A PERVERT aged 76 downloaded almost 8,000 child porn images.

But Laurence Williams, of Honley, escaped jail when he appeared at Bradford Crown Court.

Instead the disgraced Williams was given a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for two years.

The pensioner who became obsessed with downloading disgusting child porn from the internet narrowly avoided an immediate prison sentence.

Police were tipped off by officers in Germany about Williams’ activities and when they seized computer equipment from his home in Burhouse Court, Honley, they found almost 8,000 still images and films.

Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday that married Williams, who had no previous convictions, may have been downloading porn for up to three years.

Judge Jacqueline Davies was told that Williams had suffered a stroke last month, the day after he entered his guilty pleas to 21 charges of making indecent images of children.

The police analysis of Williams’ equipment revealed more than 130 still images and nearly 340 films at the most serious levels four and five.