A MAN was jailed yesterday for taking indecent photographs of a schoolgirl, which he stored on his computer.

Factory worker Thomas Thorman, 35, was arrested by detectives from Cleveland Police's child protection unit investigating allegations made by the 13-year-old girl.

Police seized father-of-two Thorman's computer from his bedroom and they found five indecent images of the girl.

The girl said he took them a year earlier. Thorman made full admissions and expressed remorse, said Derek Walton, prosecuting.

Thorman tried to kill himself and spent three weeks in University Hospital of North Tees, Teesside Magistrates' Court was told.

A pre-sentence report urged that he should be given guidance and counselling, said Graham Silvester, defending.

He said: "He has lost his job, his home, and effectively everything he had."

Thorman, of Wellington Street, Middlesbrough, was jailed for five months after he admitted five charges of taking indecent photographs. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for five years.