Detectives who raided a married man's home found 89 child porn images stored on his computer, Worcester Crown Court heard.

Alan Price insisted that he bought computer games at a car boot sale for his son but discovered some of the material was photographs of children.

He claimed he had deleted the images and disposed of the disc. But an investigation by a computer expert concluded there was "compelling evidence" that his account did not fit the facts, said Alex Warren, prosecuting.

Mr Justice Astill said 53-year-old Price, of School Lane, Upton-upon-Severn, had deliberately stored the sick images.

"It's disgusting that someone of your education and ability should seek pleasure in such images," he added during Friday's hearing. "You have brought shame on yourself."

The judge said if there had been evidence that Price had intended to distribute the images he would have gone to prison.

Instead, he passed a three-year community rehabilitation order. Price was also ordered to pay £1,000 prosecution costs and register as a sex offender for five years.

He must have no contact with children under 18 and must also participate in the sex offenders' therapy programme run by the probation service.

Price admitted possession of indecent images of children and making indecent images.

Police armed with a search warrant raided Price's family home in Woodbine, Rushwick, near Worcester, on November 19, 2002.

Mr Warren said some computer files were marked KDS for kids and some ADOLS for adolescents. Price had decided to transfer files to a CD rom disc and then delete them from his computer.

Samantha Powis, defending, said Price had been forced to live alone in Upton for the past 15 months while the case was proceeding He was an educated, family man whose world had fallen apart. He had acquired the images "innocently", she said, but curiosity had led to his downfall.

Miss Powis said society would be better served by treatment rather than the short sharp shock of custody. He recognised he had done wrong.