A CONVICTED sex offender was caught using an alias on social media when police called at his home to check his internet use.

Thomas Holroyd had registered on a gay sex site just a month after he was given a suspended prison sentence for having indecent images of children.

The 22-year-old had restrictions put on his computer use with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) imposed when he was sentenced in February this year.

When his offender manager visited his home in Hartington Road, Stockton, he asked to see his mobile phone and advised him that some of the applications on it could constitute a breach of the order.

Prosecutor Jenny Haigh said Holroyd seemed to have difficulty understanding the conditions of the SHPO.

During a follow-up visit a month later, he told the police officer there was no point explaining the terms of the order because he would forget them, and added: "I don't give a s***. Can I just be charged?"

Holroyd admitted a charge of breaking the SHPO by using the alias and was given a two-month suspended sentence to run alongside the 18-month term which was suspended for two years.

Judge Simon Hickey, who also imposed a £50 fine, heard how he is working well under the original order, and has made most of his probation appointments.

Alex Bousfield, mitigating, told Teesside Crown Court that Holroyd has "significant limitations and difficulties" and had behaved like a "surly teenager" when police visited his home.

He added: "He was quite open and clear with the officer. His order is indefinite and it is there, obviously, to protect the public. He understands that and knows why it is there."