A MAN was told by a judge that he must take part for two years in a programme for treating sex offenders, to address an "addiction" with extreme pornography.

Martyn Williams was found to have more than 1,350 images of extreme pornography involving bestiality, when police arrested him at his home in Ebbw Vale in July.

Newport Crown Court was told that a former partner called the police over concerns she had with computer equipment he left at her house after he moved out two months earlier. He was arrested the same day.

Police found 894 images of extreme pornography on a computer, 50 on Williams' mobile phone, and a further 412 on another computer hard drive, 1,356 in all.

Williams, 36, of Newtown, Ebbw Vale, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to possessing images of extreme pornography.

In a police interview he admitted having problem with viewing such images, but had not realised it was a criminal offence.

"He has been brutally frank about his shortcomings," said defence counsel Jeff Jones at a sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court.

Williams, he added, had endured "a mixture of embarrassment, regret and fright" as a result of his arrest.

Referring to a pre-sentence probation report, Mr Jones concluded: "It is clearly an addiction towards this type of material."

Not guilty verdicts were recorded on two charges brought against Williams relating to possession of indecent images of children.

He had claimed he downloaded such images by mistake when downloading the extreme pornography, and subsequent police inquiries into his computer records found his explanation to be true.

The Judge, Recorder Richard Booth, told Williams the treatment programme is necessary to help him deal with his "addiction."

It forms part of a two-year community order that also includes 240 hours of unpaid work. Williams must also pay £145 costs and £85 victim surcharge.