A MAN described as being part of a "warped audience" for images of the sexual abuse of children, has been jailed for 20 months.

Mark Power, aged 44, of Penyffordd, Caerphilly, was found to be in possession of almost 4,800 such images after police seized computers belonging to him at his partner's home in the town.

Officers had been carrying out a warrant under the Protection of Children Act - and when they went to his home to arrest him, they also found he was cultivating cannabis plants in a bedroom.

Power pleaded guilty to charges of making indecent images of children, and producing a class B drug.

At Newport Crown Court, Judge Daniel Williams was told that Power informed police on his arrest that his partner had no involvement in his offences.

The images discovered included 1,135 in the most serious category A, and there were 364 predominantly category A videos in the total of 4,786 images, that had been downloaded over a period of years. Power accepted responsibility for downloading them, but denied distributing them.

Nineteen fully grown cannabis plants were discovered at his home, along with 20 immature plants. Power told police the drug was for his own use, due to his having a bad back.

Defence counsel Jeffrey Jones told the court Power had given police the passwords to the computers and admitted his guilt.

Of the cannabis, he accepted he would have shared some of it, and that there was too much produced solely for his own use, but he denied "outright selling."

"The motive behind his use (of cannabis) is to assist in pain relief," said Mr Jones.

Judge Williams sentenced Power to 16 months in prison on the indecent images charge, with a further four months - to run consecutively - for the drugs charge, a total of 20 months.

He told Power that "gratuitous violence" was being inflicted upon the very young victims in the images.

Those who carry out such appalling acts, he added, know there is an audience for it, and "you are part of that warped audience."

Power was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order, and was banned from working with children and vulnerable adults.