AN autistic man caught for a third time making indecent images of children including the sexual abuse of toddlers has been spared jail.

David Kimbrey admitted a string of offences involving making indecent images of children and possession of extreme pornography when he was sentenced at Worcester Crown Court on Friday.

The 27-year-old pleaded guilty to making 143 category A images, the most serious bracket which shows adults having sex with children.

He also admitted making 70 images at category B, 139 at category C, a single count of possession of extreme pornographic images involving animals and possession of 1,028 prohibited images of children.

Judge Jim Tindal said the offences crossed the custody threshold and were so serious they were 'right at the top of the range' in terms of the sentencing guidelines.

However, he decided not to jail Kimbrey because of the progress he had made including private treatment he had received to prevent future offending, arguing that a suspended sentence was 'a more powerful incentive'.

He said: "I have pulled back from the brink because I'm being told by the experts how far you've come. You need to keep going in the same direction. Your work isn't finished here.

"If it goes backwards or if you breach my order you have been given fair warning, you will be going to prison whatever the psychological consequences for you." Asked if this was clear the defendant replied 'crystal'.

Blondel Thompson, prosecuting, said a warrant was executed at the defendant’s home address in Camp Hill Road, Worcester in November 2016 by members of the online child exploitation team.

Miss Thompson said the defendant’s mother answered the door and several devices were seized including USB memory stick found in the pocket of Kimbrey's jeans and two laptops.

Images were found in an inaccessible thumbnail format.

Miss Thompson said the children being abused in the category A images were aged between two and three years. In the category B images the children were said to be aged six to seven and in the category C images they were aged between two and four. The bestiality images involved a woman having sex with a pig.

Kimbrey gave a no comment interview to police upon his arrest.

Michael Aspinall, defending, said: "This is a man who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome." He argued that the condition could lead to repetitive patterns of behaviour but that he had made efforts to obtain psychological treatment and was supported by his father in court.

Mr Aspinall told the court Kimbrey had received 62 sessions of private treatment and that there was 'a sufficient prospect of rehabilitation' and provided references from members of his family which he said showed 'a change in his attitude'.

Judge Jim Tindal, speaking to the defendant, said: "What concerns me most about this is that you keep doing the same thing or rather you kept doing the same thing.

"You first committed this sort of offence back in 2009 and you were sentenced to a community order in 2010.

"This is now effectively your third conviction for this sort of offence on top of the breach of the sexual offences prevention order."

However, he said: "The impression I get is that you have now turned a corner which for you is much more difficult than for other people who commit these sort of offences because of your autism."

The judge also took into account that the defendant could 'develop suicidal feelings of an extremely strong kind very quickly'.

Judge Tindal sentenced him to two years in prison suspended for two years and ordered him to complete 300 hours of unpaid work and 50 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

He ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the devices on which the images were found, made a sexual harm prevention order and ordered him to make a contribution of £350 towards the £535 costs requested by the prosecution.