A MAN who downloaded more than 70 hours of child abuse movies from the internet has been jailed for a year and eight months.

Martin Wicks not only used his own computer to access the vile images but also his landlady's when he was lodging with a woman.

Claire Marlow, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court Wiltshire police were contacted by the Met after they got intelligence that he had an interest in the images.

She said they went to the address in Hullavington where the 52-year-old's online details were registered, but he was no longer living there.

They found he had moved to a house in Fyfield Avenue, Penhill, and they arrested him there on Thursday August 8 last year.

As well as confiscating his computer from the bedroom he rented they also took his landlady's machines from downstairs.

While he admitted he had been getting the vile pictures and movies from peer to peer websites he said he had only done so on his computer.

But when both machines were examined they were each found to have the material on them and he accepted what he had done.

Miss Marlow said as well as 451 pictures and movies of child abuse he also had 132 prohibited images of children and three of extreme pornography.

The court heard that many of the images were movies, totalling more than 70 hours, with one at the highest level being 20 minutes long.

Wicks, formerly of Corn Gastons, Malmesbury, admitted making and possessing indecent images of children downloaded between May 2008 and August last year He also pleaded guilty to possessing extreme pornography and prohibited images of children.

Paul Grumbar, defending, said his client had been married for a number of years before separating from his wife in 1999.

After his next relationship came to an end he moved to Hullavington where he started to download the material.

He then lost his accommodation due to rent arrears and lived in his van for a while before taking the room in Swindon.

"He is a rather sad middle aged man who should have known better and he acknowledges that," he said.

Jailing him, Judge Tim Mousley QC said: "There was a high volume of material found and the majority of it included young victims.

"They are rightly described as victims. One can't imagine the extreme methods that were used to coerce the children into taking part in the making of this type of material.

"One can't contemplate the hard that was caused to them and will probably last with them for the rest of their lives."

As well as jailing him he also told him he must abide by a sexual offences prevention order restricting his liberty and register as a sex offender.