A MULTIPLE sclerosis sufferer downloaded dozens of sickening child porn images off the internet, a court was told.

But Huddersfield man John Hirst, 51, has avoided a prison sentence.

At Bradford Crown Court yesterday Judge Peter Benson told him he had seen a sample of the images.

He said they were `sickening in the extreme' and he could only imagine the depravity of the people who profited from such images.

The judge said such offences almost inevitably resulted in jail.

But taking account of Hirst's condition, his guilty pleas and the fact that he lived with his teenage daughter there was a more constructive alternative.

Hirst admitted 19 sample charges of possessing indecent images of children.

He will now be subject to a three-year community rehabilitation order and must take part in a sex offender programme.

The judge told Hirst, of Spring Street, Springwood, that the programme was not an easy option and he would inevitably be jailed if he broke the order.

Hirst will also have to register as a sex offender with the police for the next five years.

Prosecutor Andrew Dallas said a university student contacted police after she found some of the child porn still on a computer which she had bought off Hirst for £100.

Officers went to his home and seized two other computers. All the equipment was examined.

Mr Dallas said indecent images were put into levels between one and five, with five being the worst kind.

Police found 81 indecent still images and video clips on Hirst's computers, with 38 at level four and four at level five.

Hirst told police he looked at the images on the net out of curiosity and not to gain sexual gratification.

His barrister, Gerald Hendron, said it was not a case where Hirst had used a credit card to pay for images. Also, there was no suggestion of any kind of distribution to others.

The court heard that Hirst had been unable to work since 1986 because of his MS and he now walked with the aid of a stick.