A TANYGRISIAU pensioner was caught with indecent images of children after he sent 50 of them online to a photo processing company for printing.

Staff at the Snap Fish company contacted police and the home of retired post master Philip Nigel Hewitt, 70, was searched.

Hewitt – who was met with a residents’ protest in his home village of Tanygrisiau after he admitted the offences last month because some locals were upset that he lived close to the local school - escaped immediate imprisonment.

He received an eight month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and he was sent on an internet sexual offender treatment programme.

Mold Crown Court heard how he had led a somewhat isolated life and the judge commented that he had too much time on his hands since the closure of the post office.

But the court was also told that apart from the vociferous protest he had been subjected to an assault and criminal damage since his guilty pleas were publicly reported on the last occasion.

Hewitt admitted seven charges.

They included making by downloading from the internet indecent images of children in categories A, B and C.

He admitted possessing 878 still images of children and three charges of distributing indecent images of category C by sending them to be printed.

The offences were dated between 2008 and November of 2014.

Hewitt of Y Llythyrdy, Tanygrisiau near Blaenau Ffestiniog, was ordered to register with the police as a sex offender for ten years.

A ten year sexual harm prevention order was made.

David Mainstone, prosecuting, said that police went to his home in November 2014 after being contacted by the photography company.

He told officers: “I have been expecting you. Is this about that Snap Fish order?”

His computer devices were examined and the images were discovered – 64 of them at the most serious category A.

Interviewed, he admitted downloading them for his own sexual gratification.

Duncan Bould, defending, said that his client was a mature gentleman of good character who was motivated to accept the intervention that could be made available to him. He had been frank and open with the police and the probation service.

There had been repercussions as a result of his earlier court appearance – he had been subjected to an assault, he had suffered criminal damage and there had been a vociferous protest locally.

He continued to live at his home, where he had lived a long time.

Judge Rhys Rowlands said that it was a serious matter – but the distribution was not about sending images to other like minded people. Unusually it was to have them printed no doubt so that he could “have some kick” from looking at them after they had been printed.

They were serious and disturbing offences which he had admitted immediately to the police and he had followed that up with early guilty pleas.

“I am told that the convictions have had, and possibly will continue to have ramifications for you.

“But you appreciate that those consequences for you pale into insignificance to what the young children had to go through.”

Judge Rowlands said that he appreciated that the effect of the convictions of someone like him living in a small Welsh community was in itself a punishment for a man of his age of previous good character.

He said that the case was aggravated by the young age of some of the children in the images, and the nature of the images downloaded, particularly those in the most serious category.