A RADIO disc jockey who set up community stations in Gwent was branded "pure evil" by police after admitting "horrific" internet child pornography offences yesterday.

His computer contained words and images detailing sexual abuse, mutilation and torture of children.

Former pirate and regional BBC DJ Alan Fossey, who set up Cwmbran's Crow FM and Blaenavon's WHAM! Radio and internet station Toradio, admitted a catalogue of offences.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of publishing articles under the Obscene Publications Act, two charges of distributing indecent images of children and 23 counts of making indecent images of children.

Prosecutor Caroline Rees told Newport crown court Fossey's 350,000 word writings posted on the internet were "very shocking in the extreme".

The offences were committed between July 2003 and September this year and also amounted to 4,405 indecent images of children.

Leighton Hughes, defending Fossey, aged 58, of Broad Street, Blaenavon, asked for sentence to be adjourned for the preparation of reports.

He said Fossey "appreciates this is going to attract a substantial period of imprisonment".

Fossey was remanded in custody by Judge David Morris.

Outside the court, Gary Probert, the operational head of Gwent Police's hi-tech crime unit, dubbed Fossey "pure evil".

He said: "The convictions relating to the obscene material dispel the myth that anything is acceptable on the internet.

"It sends a clear message to those who generate and distribute such material, that they are not beyond the reach of the law."

Detective Constable Martyn Webb, the officer in the case, told the Argus outside the court: "The writings are sickening and as a result of these images, children somewhere in the world suffered the abuse shown in them."

He described how Fossey was caught by detectives: "The complaint came to us from a lady in southern France whose family started searching for their history on the internet.

"She discovered obscene material written about the family - his stories are written using the names of people that exist or he has had contact with.

"As a result of that material being brought to the attention of Gwent Police, a warrant was executed to search his home and his computer equipment was seized.

"The combination of images and writings of sexual abuse, torture and mutilation of children and adults make this a case of a horrific nature."

Fossey used to work for regional BBC radio in England and set up Riviera Radio in Monte Carlo.

He was a project manager with Tormedia, a community-based media project and the two community stations Crow FM and WHAM! Radio.

* Alan Fossey was born in Kingston, Surrey, in 1947.

He left a career in the civil service to work in offshore pirate radio stations in the early 1960s, starting with Radio London.

He joined Radio 270, where he broadcast under the name of Ross Randell, "your five-foot bundle of joy," until it closed down in August 1967.

He then worked for BBC Radio Leicester before returning to sea during the Seventies with Radio Northsea International, broadcasting under the name Alan West.

Fossey then worked on a number of stations including Radios Orwell, Hallam, Hereward and Wiltshire, ABC Tramore in Ireland, Riviera Radio from Monte Carlo and the Voice of Peace, an offshore station which broadcast to Israel, where he was known as Rob Scott.

Fossey became interested in community radio in the late 1990s, and moved to Blaenavon in 2002 where he set up WHAM fm, and became a director-trustee of Torfaen Voluntary Alliance.

Fossey published two books on UFOs in the 1970s, and wrote a monthly column for a Blaenavon newsletter.