A paedophile who turned himself in after he said his conscience got the better of him has been spared jail.

Mervyn Ryan, 32, of Shakespeare Road in Walthamstow, walked into a police station on October 4 and admitted viewing images of child abuse for a year.

He was arrested and immediately charged with five counts of possessing indecent images.

Subsequent analysis of his computer found 2,400 images and 153 videos of child abuse, along with other extreme pornographic material.

Ryan also told officers he had also sold a laptop on Ebay that had been used to view indecent images.

Rekhi Kodikara, prosecuting, said: “This is an unusual case where the defendant actually turned himself in to the police station.

“All the images came from the internet and none were created by this defendant.”

Explaining her decision not to jail Ryan at Snaresbrook Crown Court yesterday, Judge Judith Hughes QC, sentencing, said: “You must be under no illusion that this type of offending does normally attract an immediate custodial sentence. But I can see good reasons for not sending you to prison immediately.

“This is not a case where you have been watching images and inviting your friends round to watch together and lend images to one another.

“This is a case where you have gone to you bedroom and watched them.

“You went to the police, which does not make it better, but is something I take in to account as they would have no idea what you were doing without your admission.

“You need help and if I were to send you to prison, I know from the queue that is waiting for the sex offenders’ programme, you would not get help.”

Ryan was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 18 months.

Ryan will be under probation for 12 months, and will be a registered sex offender for the next ten years.