Paedophile had more than 4,000 child abuse images

Peter Maughan was sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court

A paedophile with so many images showing child sex abuse that police stopped counting them when they reached 4,000 has been given a suspended sentence.

Peter Maughan's haul included pictures and videos of girls as young as five being raped, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

The 48-year-old, from Wallsend, had hidden his collection on a computer and hard drive, with his internet searches focusing on sexual images of young children and "familial sexual abuse", the court heard.

Maughan admitted three counts of making indecent images of children and was jailed for a year, suspended for two years.

Police raided his home on 11 October 2023 and seized several devices, prosecutor Emma Dowling said.

Some 49 indecent images of children in the most serious category were found along with 142 in the second level and more than 3,700 in the third tier of classification, the court heard.

Officers stopped counting when they reached 4,000 images as they had found enough for their needs, Ms Dowling said, but they could see there was a "substantial number of further images" on his computer.

The girls in his collection ranged in age from five to 13 years old, with the youngest being raped in some of his most serious images, the court heard.

In mitigation, the court heard Maughan was a heavy user of cannabis at the time and was socially isolated, developing an "unhealthy" pornography addiction.

Judge Penny Moreland said Maughan made deliberate searches for indecent images of children, including for "familial sexual abuse".

Maughan was also ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £500 in court costs.