A PERVERT was caught with hundreds of child pornography pictures on his computer when police raided his home to investigate claims he had raped or abused youngsters.

Mark Hatton had boasted on an internet chat-room about having intercourse with a seven-year-old relative, as well as sexual relations with people aged eight, nine, ten, 11 and 12.

The person he was communicating with reported her concerns to her local force in the West Midlands on March 19, last year, and they contacted Cleveland Police.

When Hatton was arrested at his home in Billingham, he told officers: “It was a stupid conversation – a fake thing.”

Teesside Crown Court was told by Hatton’s barrister that the messages he posted on the chat site were simply the fantasies of “a lonely and rather sad young man”.

David Lamb, mitigating, said 27-year-old Hatton had not distributed any images and had already suffered as a result of his arrest, by losing his job and being threatened.

The court heard that all but 15 of the 530 indecent images – many of which were of boys – had been deleted, but were recovered from the computer’s hard drive by police experts.

Hatton, of Barnard Road, was given a three-year community order with supervision after he admitted 15 offences of making indecent photographs and one of possession.

He was ordered to sign on the sex offenders’ register for seven years.