A PERVERT caught with more than 1,000 vile pictures of child abuse who claims he has no sexual interest in children has walked free from court.

Peter Blenkinsop was banned from having unsupervised contact with girls under-16 and had restrictions placed on his use of computers and the internet.

The 60-year-old was also put on the sex offenders’ register for ten years and ordered to go on a treatment programme to try to combat his problem.

A Teesside Crown Court judge told the married father from Hartlepool: “I find you do have a sexual interest in children, and that interest is ingrained.”

Blenkinsop’s barrister, Laurie Scott, said he still has the “unwavering” support of his wife, siblings and father - who were in court with him.

Miss Scott added: “He has made his employers aware of the case and they continue to offer him employment if he receives a non-custodial sentence.”

Blenkinsop, who admitted charges of making a total of 1,112 indecent images of children, was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

The judge, Recorder Nicholas Lumley, QC, told him yesterday: “Since 2000, you deliberately gathered indecent images of children.

“At the time of your arrest you had more than 1,000, but no doubt many more passed through your hands.

“The most serious images, to be blunt, showed children being raped by adult males.

“You have no insight into the impact of your offending on the children.

“They would not be abused if someone didn’t create a market for the images, you are that person.

“You thought not of them, but only of your own sexual perversion.

“I find you do have a sexual interest in children, and that interest is ingrained.

“You could not complain if it was immediate custody, and I’m sure many right-thinking members of the public would think it should be.

“I am just persuaded to suspend the sentence, but if you do so much as look at another photograph of a child for sexual gratification, you will go to prison.”

Police found the images on two USB sticks, two computer towers, a hard-drive and two mobile phones when they searched his house in York Road.

Prosecutor Rachel Masters said the National Crime Agency had been alerted to a photo-sharing website in Russia which had “concerning” pictures.

Blenkinsop, who was of previous good character, expressed remorse after his arrest, but was adamant he did not have a sexual interest in children.