A COUNCIL worker who downloaded sickening images of children being sexually abused was unaware his son was also looking at the pornography sites.

Grandfather Alan Macadie, 56, collected 932 photographs of child pornorgraphy, some depicting youngsters of pre-school age, on his home computer, Teesside Crown court heard yesterday.

Unbeknown to him, his son, Paul, 32, was locked in his bedroom at the family home in Stockton, also downloading indecent images of children.

Shaun Dodds, prosecuting, said Macadie's wife, a registered childminder, had no idea what her husband and son were up to.

The former Stockton Borough Council worker, who has since lost his job, had also e-mailed a 14-year-old boy in the US after seeing a naked picture of him on the Internet.

He had visited sex websites including those depicting incest scenes.

The court heard police had originally raided the home, in Auckland Way, in November 2002, as part of the FBI-led Operation Ore, after receiving information that Paul Macadie had subscribed to a website offering child porn.

When detectives arrived and arrested him, they began to search the house and noticed his father was acting suspiciously.

Mr Dodds said: "He was followed upstairs by officers, who found him at the computer. When asked what he was doing he said he was deleting some naturaist images that were embarrassing."

The grandfather was also discovered destroying seven computer files with a pair of scissors and had hidden 117 disks in a bag. A further 110 printed images were found in his garage.

Defending, Stephen Ashurst said there was no evidence to suggest father and son had collaborated to commit the offences.

He said: "It is a remarkable coincidence, but they were operating completely independently."

Mr Ashurst said the defendant had suffered considerable because of the publicity surrounding the case and the length of time it had taken to come to court.

Despite lengthy mitigation that he should not go to jail, Judge George Moorhouse said a message should "go out loud and clear' that child porn offenders will serve time".

Macadie admitted 14 charges of making and possessing indecent photographs of children and was jailed for 15 months.

At an earlier hearing, Paul Macadie received a three-year community punishment order after pleading guilty to 17 charges of making and possessing images.