A FORMER South Lakes pub landlord downloaded hundreds of illegal images featuring the sexual abuse of children - including some as young as one.

A judge who jailed Christopher George Helman described the prohibited pictures found in his possession as "utterly repellant", "shocking" and "revolting".

Helman was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court having admitted charges of making and possessing indecent photographs of children.

Almost half the total of 1,270 illicit images recovered were classed in category A - the most serious.

Many of the abused children featured were, the court heard, "mere infants".

Prosecutor Gerard Rogerson said still and moving photographs were downloaded between September 2016 and January this year.

Helman's offending came to light after Cumbria police received information from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection unit.

A computer IP address was traced to the Old John Peel Inn, in Bowness.

"The registered landlord of that premises at the time was the defendant, Mr Helman," said Mr Rogerson.

Illegal images of children were found on two hard drives which had been seized. More than a third of the category A images were films.

One of the children being abused had "learning difficulties", the prosecutor said.

Forensic analysis also revealed, Mr Rogerson said, a "prolonged series of search terms associated with looking for images of child abuse and pornography".

"All too common code phrases are used repeatedly," he added.

Helman, a man of previous good character, was represented in court by barrister Tim Evans.

Mr Evans stressed Helman had not sought to limit or minimise his criminal conduct.

"That period of time coincided with - if I can put it this way - a 'shed collapse' in terms of his general life - his employment, his marriage and his emotional life," the barrister said.

Judge James Adkin imposed an immediate 12-month prison term for what he called a "bad example of this sort of offending".

"This is so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified," the judge told Helman, of Crook, south Cumbria.

"You need to understand that by downloading that material you perpetuate and continue the cycle of misery for these real children who you enjoyed watching being abused."

Helman must sign the sex offenders' register for a decade, and observe the terms of a sexual harm prevention order.