A former special constable and children's home carer was yesterday jailed for a year after downloading 5,300 indecent images of children from the internet.

Dennis Brown, aged 50, of Kingsmarsh House, Lawrence Weston, admitted 28 charges of making indecent pictures of children and another three of intending to distribute indecent photographs.

Recorder of Bristol Judge Mark Dyer also ordered that Brown should be put on the Sexual Offenders Register for ten years, which means he must notify the police of where he lives when he is released.

Brown, formerly a carer at schools and children's homes in the London, Manchester and Stockport areas, also had ties with the Scout movement.

Prosecutor Robert Davis told the court that child pornography was found in two separate raids on Brown's home.

On September 18 1998 police found 265 floppy discs and 146 videos.

Four days later they searched the home of a man in London and found a fax from Brown, who, it is understood, was a special constable, detailing a list of videos.

On December 21 last year his flat was raided again by the police, who found videos and computer images.

Ian Dixey, defending, said Brown, who was given a conditional discharge in 1994 after unsuccessfully propositioning a child, was a man who had a misfortune to be sexually attracted to children.

Mr Dixey said Brown had never done anything positive about it.

Judge Dyer said the pornography seized was "singularly repellent".

This story was first published in the Bristol Evening Post.