A VILE pervert was found in possession of a stash of indecent images and videos of children, some as young as babies.

A search warrant was issued to the Padgate home of Ian Mairs following police intelligence, which led officers to discover devices storing pictures and videos of young children being sexually abused.

The 55-year-old appeared before Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday facing counts of possession of indecent images of children, making of indecent images and possession of extreme pornographic images.

Ian Criddle, prosecuting, told the court that police conducted a search of Mairs home on February 21, 2021, and ‘various items were recovered’.

These included three mobile phones, a laptop and a hard drive.

The defendant was at the scene during the search warrant and was arrested, willingly offering up information to the police that there would be indecent images found on some of the devices.

Each device was forensically analysed, and the collection of indecent images included 11 category A images of children - the most severe category involving child rape – five category B images and 19 category C images.

There were also 10 images of extreme pornography ‘depicting bestiality’.

Mr Criddle told the court there was a chat uncovered on one of the devices which showed Mairs engaging in a conversation with another account in which they ‘discussed the abuse of children’.

“It shows that this defendant has an indecent sexual interest in children,” he said.

“Both still images and videos were recovered involving very young children and when I say young I mean babies.”

The defendant has one previous conviction dating back to the 1980s.

Defending, Jim Smith said his client ‘understands the nature of these offences are serious’, and that he is ‘sorry for his actions’.

Honour judge Swinnerton responded to comments surrounding if Mairs had an attraction to children, saying: “He has a sexual interest in children, if he wants to tell me he does not he can get into the witness box.”

Continuing, Mr Smith added: “The offending came at a time of trauma. The passing of his partner to Covid left him in a vulnerable position.”

Concluding the sentencing, judge Swinnerton said: “When the police seized a number of telephone, laptops and hard drives at your house, what they discovered on them was 35 indecent images.

“The images are relatively few in number but in your case some of the pen pictures of children are particularly shocking.

“Not least the descriptions of abuse of babies under the age of one.

“Yes, you have not abused a child yourself but by being a customer that is what causes that market to exist.

“What you are doing is encouraging, creating the market for such imagery.

“There is somewhere in the world a real child being abused, raped and sexually assaulted and that is where the real damage comes in.”

Mairs, of Mayberry Grove, Padgate, was served a 12 month prison sentence suspended for two years. He was also ordered to carry out 30 rehabilitation requirement days and 200 hours of unpaid work and was issued with a sexual harm prevention order.

He will also be signed onto the sex offenders register.