A SELF-confessed pornography addict was found with more than 1,000 child abuse images that he had sought out on the dark web.

David Brine was traced by police after the messaging app Kik reported that he had uploaded two images onto the site, including one which was rated at the worst category and depicted serious abuse.

His desktop, laptop and phone were seized in a police raid and experts found more than 1,000 images or movies before they stopped counting.

They also discovered that he had used the Tor Browser to access the dark web and search for images of ten-year-old girls. He also had evidence-wiping software but had not used it.

Brine, aged 41, previously of Ridgeway, Sherborne, but now of Honiton, admitted two counts of distributing indecent images of children, three of making them by downloading, and one of possessing prohibited images in the form of cartoons.

He was jailed for 20 months, suspended for two years, ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid community work and 25 days of rehabilitation activities by Judge David Evans at Exeter Crown Court.

He told him he was suspending the sentence because a probation report assessed that he had genuine remorse, had started work to alter his behaviour, and was a good prospect for rehabilitation.

Mr Tom Bradnock, prosecuting, said Kik notified police of illegal activity in November 2017 and Brine’s former home in South Devon was raided the following year after he was traced through his IP address.

The two images uploaded to Kik were sent on September 1, 2016, and one was graded at category A, meaning it showed a child involved in penetrative sex.

A total of 157 still and five moving category A images were recovered from Brine’s devices and 1,162 pictures or movies in the two lower categories were found.

Experts also detected the use of the Tor Browser to access the so-called dark web and downloads from torrent files, which are frequently used to exchange illegal images.

Search terms included ’10-y-o schoolgirl’ and the images showed children aged four to 13, although the bulk were of girls aged eight to ten.

Brine told police during the road that he was ‘addicted to pornography’ but then made no further comment in two interviews.

Brine’s defence counsel said he is now helping look after his frail mother in Honiton. He said the probation report showed that Brine has already started tackling his issues and is a good prospect for rehabilitation.