A MAN from Basingstoke has been jailed for having indecent images of children on his computer.

For possession of the indecent photographs and other offences, Guy Cartawick, 48, of Blacklands Farm, Basingstoke, was jailed for a total of a year at Winchester Crown Court.

Passing sentence, Judge Guy Boney told Cartawick he found it difficult to accept the images had found their way onto the hard drive of his computer by some kind of "downloading accident".

Charles Cochand, defending, had told the judge that Cartawick was not a paedophile who had actively sought out the images. He claimed the pictures had arrived on the computer as the result of the use of a file-sharing program, when it was not entirely apparent what the files contained. Mr Cochand added the images had been a very small proportion of the material on the computer.

"This isn't a case where Mr Cartawick sat alone in a darkened room downloading filth involving children," said Mr Cochand.

The judge viewed the moving images before sentencing Cartawick, who had admitted 13 counts of possession of indecent photographs of a child.

Prosecutor Charles Thomas said there was no evidence at all of the defendant having distributed photos elsewhere or of him having created them.

However, Judge Boney told Cartawick that even if the images had arrived without intention on his part, they remained on the hard drive and had been accessed.

He jailed Cartawick for four months for possession of the photographs - a charge he admitted - and a further eight months for an offence of child cruelty. Cartawick had denied this count but was convicted of it by a jury.

Cartawick also received a concurrent sentence of one month for firearms offences, which he had admitted, relating to his failure to properly store two rifles and ammunition.

The judge ordered that Cartawick's computer should be forfeited and revoked his firearms certificate.