A REDDITCH man was caught with "sadistic" child abuse images after his mobile phone was sent for repairs, a court heard.

Marcus Bartlett, aged 38, of Gloucester Close, who was given a suspended jail sentence, was told by a judge that downloading such images was a "form of child abuse" itself because it encouraged the people who made them.

Worcester Crown Court heard that Bartlett bought an iphone from a female friend for £100 but after a short time it stopped working.

He contacted the person he had got it from and it was sent away.

But a member of staff at the repair firm found the indecent images and the friend who had sold Bartlett the phone was arrested, Gareth Walters, prosecuting, told the court.

She was released after protesting her innocence and police went to Bartlett's home.

When they told him they were going to carry out a search, he gave them a second mobile phone, which was found to have more indecent images, most featuring teenage boys.

Bartlett pleaded guilty to having 40 images at category A, 57 at category B and 308 at category C between December 2013 and January 2014.

The court heard he had no previous convictions and was in full time work.

Judge Robert Juckes, QC, adjourned a previous hearing for a report on the exact nature of the images in category A, the most serious, and said some had been found to be "sadistic".

"Downloading these images is a form of child abuse in itself because it encourages those who make them," he told Bartlett.

He said the public's disgust at this sort of behaviour could only be reflected in a jail sentence and he gave Bartlett 12 months suspended for two years with supervision.

Bartlett will also have to attend 25 days of a programme for sex offenders and will be subject indefinitely to a sexual harm prevention order restricting his use of computers.

He was ordered to pay £500 towards court costs and will have to register as a sex offender.