A SCOUTMASTER who downloaded disgusting and depraved child pornography has been jailed for a year.

Kelvin Marshall, 34, accessed degrading images of children involved in sexual activities, including sadism and bestiality, Teesside Crown Court heard.

One of the images discovered on Marshall's home computer showed a girl who appeared to be frightened by what was happening to her, said Judge Tony Lancaster.

The married father-of-one had denied the allegations but was found guilty by a jury in November of 19 charges of making indecent photographs of children and appeared in court yesterday for sentencing.

The court heard he resigned from his post as scoutmaster with the 1st Eaglescliffe Scouts group at All Saints' Church, Eaglescliffe, near Stockton, following his arrest.

John Gillette, prosecuting, said 1,086 images were found on Marshall's computer.

Judge Lancaster branded some of the images disgusting, depraved and grotesque.

He said: "You must have realised that children were being exploited by adults in a degrading way.

"Downloading this material maintains demand for it. Do not forget that these were real children involved in the images.

"The jury rejected your account that the images had been downloaded accidentally."

Marshall was caught as part of the nationwide Operation Ore, the British arm of the FBI-led operation that has tracked 250,000 suspected Internet paedophiles across the globe.

Mike Bosomworth, defending, said his client had lost a great deal by his actions.

"He has lost his wife, his home and his job,", he said.

He said there had been no evidence of any paedophile behaviour or of distributing or sharing the child porn.

Marshall, formerly of Meadowfield Drive, Eaglescliffe, was jailed for 12 months, with a further 18 months on licence.

He was placed on the sex offenders' register for ten years and an order was made preventing him from working with children.