A convicted voyeur who had more than 3,000 images of child abuse on his computers has been spared prison.

Sheerness resident Benjamin West appeared for sentencing at Canterbury Crown Court having admitted 28 charges of making indecent images.

These ranged from photographs at levels one to four and four pictures at the most serious and depraved level five.

Judge James O’Mahony told him: “Anybody who does what you did forms part of a market for that sort of material to be disseminated and is rightly held in utter disregard by decent people and also deserves to go to prison.”

But he decided against a custodial sentence because of progress West has made on a community order imposed for the voyeurism offence.

The 29-year-old appeared before Canterbury magistrates in July 2009 and admitted setting up a miniature camera in the bathroom of his shared student accommodation.

• Full story in this week's Times Guardian