A FORMER teacher who downloaded more than 1,000 abusive images of children and engaged in sexually explicit conversations in internet chatrooms with people he believed to be underage school girls has avoided jail.

Retired supply teacher and ex-councillor Alexander Wood, aged 59, was caught when police acting on a tip-off raided his home in Hyde Close, Roade, in June last year.

Officers discovered child pornography on two computer hard drives and two memory sticks, as well as 43 images of extreme pornography involving bondage and mutilation.

At a hearing at Northampton Crown Court last month, Wood admitted a catalogue of offences, including possessing and downloading indecent images and videos of children, and using MSN and other internet chat rooms to incite people he believed to be underage school girls to discuss sex and perform sexual acts for him.

Of the 1,300 abusive images found by police, 64 were classified at the two most serious levels involving child sex abuse, bestiality and torture.

Sentencing Wood to a three-year community order with supervision yesterday, Judge Ian Alexander QC said he would not be imposing a prison sentence because guidelines would not allow for a term long enough for Wood to complete sex offender treatment programmes.

He said: “Frankly it would be a waste of public time and money to send you to prison for [the period of time I can impose] because that would mean no assistance would be given to you to see that you don’t commit these offences again.”

As part of his sentence, Wood will have to attend a sex offender treatment programme and sign the sex offenders’ register. He will also be the subject of a sexual offences prevention order and will have to pay prosecution costs.

Wood semi-retired in 2001 after having previously worked as a supply teacher to forces children in Cyprus and Germany.

As well as being a member of South Northamptonshire District Council in the 1990s, he previously taught across the county, including at five schools in Northampton, but the court was told there was no evidence of any abuse of pupils at schools where he had taught.