A MAN had more than 100 images of women having sex with animals on his mobile phone.

Russell Dawkes admitted a single count of possessing extreme pornographic images when he appeared at Worcester Crown Court on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old of Windsor Row, St John’s, Worcester, had already admitted possessing 115 extreme images at an earlier hearing before he appeared before judge Nicolas Cartwright to be sentenced.

Paul Whitfield, prosecuting, said police had been speaking to Dawkes about unrelated matters in January this year when they examined his mobile telephone and found the images.

Mr Whitfield said: “The images depicted adult females having sexual relations with various types of animal.

“When he was interviewed Mr Dawkes freely admitted that the phone was his and he had, together with others, dallied with such sites and downloaded the material.”

Dawkes had been a man of good character with no previous convictions until the hearing.

Mark Sheward, defending, said Dawkes had pleaded guilty at the first time of asking.

He did not admit the offence at the magistrates court because a description of the images had not been available at that time and he was advised not to plead at the stage.

He added: “This started when he was with a group of friends in a public house messing about with their phones.

“Someone found an image of this nature. He searched himself for images of that nature out of curiosity.”

Mr Sheward described Dawkes as a single, working man with a cognitive impairment who had never been before a court before.

Judge Nicolas Cartwright, sentencing, said: “The public should understand that possession of these images is a serious criminal offence.

“The market for photographs like this is a market driven by supply and demand.”

He said Dawkes’s behaviour had led to ‘the exploitation of the women who are required to engage in this activity’.

Judge Cartwright said it was the defendant’s own fault that no pre-sentence report was available because he had missed an appointment with the probation service.

He sentenced Dawkes to 15 weeks in prison suspended for two years and ordered him to complete 120 hours of unpaid work.

A five year sexual harm prevention order was also imposed prohibiting Dawkes from using any device capable of accessing the internet unless he first notifies a police officer in the public protection unit.

The device must also retain and display the search history of internet use and this must be made available on request to a police officer or accredited police employee. He was further ordered to pay £535 costs.