A Hartlepool man was caught with sick images showing children being sexually abused after police raided his home. Some of the children in the photos were as young as three-years-old.

Teesside Crown Court has heard that police acted after receiving intelligence about Stephen MacDonald's online activity. They turned up at his rented home on January 23, last year.

Officers found the illegal material on three mobile phones, a computer, a laptop and a hard drive. The 42-year-old had downloaded 7,256 images onto his phones over the course of 16 years. A further 34 images found included showing children being raped.

There were 80,000 more images on MacDonald's devices, but the court heard that the police have not looked at them to see if they contain illegal content. MacDonald was arrested

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