A man who downloaded pornographic photographs of children from an American website has been ordered to register as a sex offender for five years.

David Crump was also told to carry out 180 hours of unpaid community work.

He was caught during Operation Ore, a worldwide inquiry into credit card subscribers to porn sites on the internet, said Alex Warren, prosecuting at Worcester Crown Court.

Police who seized his computer last year found 234 images downloaded in March and April 1999.

Crump, aged 28, of White Road, Bromsgrove, admitted to 12 specimen counts of making indecent images of children.

Although the images were saved on his computer's hard drive, there was no evidence he had tried to distribute them to other people, said Mr Warren.

Crump had no previous convictions but had two police cautions for heroin use.

Brett Stevenson, defending, claimed Crump had logged onto the internet out of curiosity but had gained no sexual gratification from the child porn. He was now free of drugs.