Adrian White, known online as ‘Mr Grippy’, downloaded images to cope with isolation of living on Colyton Hill.

A child pornography addict has been jailed for sending revolting images of sadistic child abuse over the internet under the alias of Mr Grippy.

Adrian White, aged 52, lived with his 85-year-old mother a mile from the nearest village in rural Devon and started to download the images as a way of coping with the isolation.

He sent some of the most depraved images to fellow paedophiles who he met in internet chat rooms where they also exchanged violent and sadistic fantasies, Exeter Crown Court was told.

White, who worked as an administrator at an electrical business in Axminster, was arrested after being traced through the images which he downloaded.

He collapsed in the dock as he was jailed for 18 months for collecting what a Judge described as sadistic extreme and unpleasant images of children as young as one year old.

White, of Colyton Hill, Colyton, admitted 23 offences of making or possessing indecent or extreme images of children and four of distributing them and was jailed for 18 months by Judge Mr Justice Butterfield.

He told him:”I must have regard to the way in which the public regard this sort of extreme pornographic material involving children being made to perform horrible acts for the gratification of people like you.

“While you did not cause direct physical harm, it is an unquestionable fact that your behaviour has contributed to the exploitation and abuse of young children, some of which is impossible to describe.

“Some of this material is really quite extreme and involved elements of sadism on very young children. The offence is made much worse by the fact you distributed some of the images.

“You are a man of hitherto good character and I am sure the whole experience of appearing at this court and admitting these shameful offences has been degrading and distressing.”

Mr David Bowen, prosecuting, said police seized computers at White’s home and work in September 2011 and found films and still images of child abuse.

The victims were aged between one and 13 but most were in the younger age range and the 700 images included 400 rated at the two worst levels.

These showed adults sexually abusing children and five or six images showed sadism or bondage. He was found to have distributed seven images, including five showing serious abuse.

Police also found chat room logs which showed him exchanging extreme and disturbing fantasies and using the pen name of Mr Grippy.

Miss Nicola Smailes, defending, said White had deleted most of the images and had gone along with others who had posted more extreme fantasies in the chat rooms.

She said:”He described it as being a fantasy and part of the titillation which would never have gone further.

“He lives an isolated life a mile from the nearest village and does not have a lot of friends. He involved himself in a fantasy world on his computer.

“He is the sole carer for his mother who is 85 and suffers from arthritis. His father passed away last October and his sister in 2009 and he used these images as a comfort and escape at a difficult time.”