A JURY is expected to retire today to decide whether or not a former airman downloaded child pornography on to his computer in his barracks room.

James Richard Poole, 33, had more than 6,000 pornographic images on his computer at Blackburn Barracks, RAF Leeming, in North Yorkshire, when it was seized by Ministry of Defence police, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Among a vast array of pictures found on the hard drive and two compact discs were pictures of underage girls.

Poole, of Telford, Shropshire, has always denied any knowledge of the pictures, and claimed he did not know how they had got on his computer. He denies 12 charges of making indecent photo-graphs of children.

Yesterday, the jury heard a computer expert say there were enough picture files on the computer and CDs to fill the equivalent of more than 100 30-volume sets of Encyclopaedia Britannica.

He said files had been created on Poole's PC after he was arrested, but he could not say how they had got there.

The jury was left to decide whether or not foul play by Poole's arresting officers had led to the images appearing.

Computer consultant Jona-than Vogler said MoD officers had gone about their investigations in an unprofessional manner and had not followed police guidelines on the best way to deal with computer-related allegations of crime.

Peter Johnson, prosecuting, told the court it "beggars belief" that MoD police would spend two hours after Poole's arrest downloading sordid child pornography images on to his computer.

The case continues.