A POLICE officer who resigned after making and possessing child pornography was yesterday jailed for eight months.

Family man David Bright, 41, a former police constable with the Northumbria force, had pleaded guilty to 43 charges.

Bright was sentenced by Judge David Bryant, who told him: "Only a custodial sentence can properly mark the public disgust that must be felt for offences of this sort."

Teesside Crown Court was told that 346 images of child pornography was found on three computers in his home.

Police raided the house in Birtley, near Gateshead, last December, following a tip-off from a national agency that a child pornography website had been accessed in the property.

When he was interviewed, Bright at first said he only accessed the images by mistake when looking at adult pornography.

However, he later admitted he had stored images on recordable discs out of "morbid curiosity".

The married father admitted 17 counts of making or downloading indecent images and 26 counts of possession of child porn.

More than 200 images were of the lowest category and showed children under the age of 16 in nude or erotic poses, but at least 14 images were of the worst category.

The court was told that Bright had not manufactured the images or physically abused a child himself but he had downloaded and owned the images.

Peter Makepeace, defending, said: "A case like this not only destroys a man's future but it also destroys his past.

"Anyone looking at his record as a caring father and supportive husband will from now on look at him in a very different light."

Judge Byrant said: "You say you accidentally stumbled on these websites. Clearly a time came when stumbling became deliberate rather than accidental."

Bright, who had an 18-year career with Northumbria Police which included commendations for bravery, resigned weeks before he faced the prospect of being jailed as a serving officer.

The court was told that the family had stayed together despite the "unimaginable horror" the case had put Bright's wife through.

Bright, who spent most of his service at Gateshead, was suspended during the investigation and was then subjected to disciplinary proceedings