A 71-year-old former serviceman who downloaded child porn after an accident affected his sex life has been given a community order.

Police seized three computers from Derek Elliott’s home in Great Blakenham in May last year after receiving information from the National Crime Agency, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

Elliott told police at that stage he’d received some naked pictures of girls and had told his wife about them.

When his three computers were analysed by an expert they were found to contain 223 images in the most serious level A category, 246 images in category B and 255 images in the lowest level C category.

David Wilson, prosecuting, said level A pictures contained images of penetrative sexual activity, level B images involved sexual activity with children that didn’t involve penetration and level C images involved posed sexual images.

The children in the images ranged from six months to 11.

Following his arrest Elliott told police he had viewed the images after an accident affected his sex life.

Elliott, of Blueleigh Park, Chalk Hill Road, Great Blakenham, admitted three offences of making indecent images of children between October 2014 and May last year.

Sentencing him to a two-year community order, Judge David Pugh said: “These aren’t victimless crimes. The reason children are put through this appalling abuse, pain and the emotional distress they will suffer is because of men like you.”

In addition to the community order Elliott was given a rehabilitation activity order which will include the Maps for Change programme and a four-month curfew between 7pm and 7am.

He was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for five years and ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for the same period.

Jonathan Goodman for Elliott said his client acknowledged that his behaviour had been appalling and reprehensible.

He said Elliott had an unblemished record in the RAF and had then worked in the private sector until he was medically retired following an accident.

He said that in addition to being unable to work the accident had resulted in Elliott losing “other functions” as well.

He said Elliott had no previous convictions.