A PARK South dad has been jailed for 16 months after he was found to have hundreds of indecent images of children stored on his computer.

Steven Howse hoarded the depraved pictures and also swapped them with other perverts over the internet.

And despite police recovering evidence of the 34-year-old discussing how young other paedophiles' victims were, he insisted he got no arousal from what he was doing.

Richard Thomas, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court police raided Howse's home in November 2004.

Howse was arrested and they seized his computer, some compact discs and other ways of storing files.

When questioned he told officers they would find indecent images of children on his machine which had been put there without his wife's knowledge. He also admitted swapping pictures using a file-sharing program saying he had last done it a few days before his arrest.

Howse told police he had no sex drive and while he was interested in the material he had downloaded he got no arousal' from it.

Mr Thomas said: "He said he was wary of children in public and tried to avoid them."

The court also heard that he chatted on line to other people asking them things like How young do you like them?' and How young is your youngest victim?' Howse, of Leighton Avenue, Park South, admitted six counts of making indecent images of children, two of distribution and one of possession. Mike Pulsford, defending, said his client did not feel he was a danger to children.

"He does not get sexual gratification from the images he has admitted possessing and at a lower level distributing on the internet all to people with a similar interest in child pornography," he said.

As a result of the case he said his client had lost his marriage and contact with his young daughter and would lose his job if he was jailed.

"He is a man who appears to have shown little remorse for what he has done," he said.

"He assures me he does understand the lead up to the placing of these vile images on the internet."

Jailing him Judge Tom Longbotham said that the pre-sentence report compiled by the probation service said he rationalised' his sexual offending and behaviour.

"It is evident you are in denial as to your sexual attraction to young girls.

"You are certainly a high risk of harm to young children," he told him.

As well as jailing him for 16 months he imposed a two-year extended licence in the hope that he could complete a sex offenders' programme on his release.

He also banned him from working with children and ordered he register as a sex offender.