A man who downloaded 272 indecent images of children over a period of 11 years has been jailed for 13 months.

Philip Davidson, 35, had denied four counts of possessing indecent images but was convicted by a jury following a trial.

The court heard his offences were discovered when his then partner informed the police after seeing images of children on his laptop.

Police found images on three separate devices.

Some 253 were assessed as being at the lowest level of severity, level one, with six on level two , three on level three and 10 at level four.

Sentencing him, Deemster Graeme Cook told him: ‘I hope you don’t think they are just photos. It’s how they are taken.

‘Who knows what damage that does to a child?

‘Frankly the evidence against you was overwhelming.’

Defence advocate Paul Glover said his client’s offending had taken place over a significant period of time but it was sporadic, with months and sometimes years between images being downloaded.

‘He accepts there are victims to the offences,’ he said.

He said the defendant had maintained his innocence throughout and while he accepted the jury’s verdict he did not agree with it.

Mr Glover argued for a suspended sentence, saying immediate custody would mean his client finding himself among hardened offenders which he said would increase the risk of further offences taking place.

Davidson, of Kensington Avenue, Douglas, was jailed for 13 months and placed on the sex offenders’ register for a period of 10 years.

He was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order.