A MAN caught with more than 20,000 indecent images of children was spared jail - when a judge said he would receive better treatment in the community.

Judge Michael Taylor told Craig Murfitt that he faced "a stark choice" before giving him a nine-month prison sentence which he suspended for two years.

Murfitt, 29, was said to have had an interest in child abuse pictures for ten years, and had sought help in the past but failed to overcome his problem.

He was arrested when police acting on information visited his home in Benkhill Drive, Bedale, North Yorkshire, and seized computer equipment and a tablet.

At Teesside Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to 22 charges of making indecent images of children, and one count of possessing extreme pornography.

Judge Taylor also ordered that he attend a sex offenders' treatment programme, and warned Murfitt if he did not complete it he would be locked up.

"Over the years, you have held down responsible work, and people have thought highly of you," the judge told him. "I am left with a very stark choice.

"If I were to send you down, the maximum time I would put you inside for would be nine months. You would have no assistance in overcoming the interest you have in these matters, and you would leave custody in no better a position, and without any real constraints on what would happen in the future.

"I think it better you be regulated for a longer period of time in the community and subject to some severe restraints."

A Sexual Harm Prevention Order was also imposed, which will restrict Murfitt's computer and internet use.