A HIGHLY commended Buckinghamshire police officer who downloaded thousands of child porn images has been jailed for eight months.

PC Philip Strolin, 50, worked as a roads policing officer for Thames Valley Police, but his 22-year police career ended in shame after his arrest last year, Swindon Crown Court heard.

Colin Meeke, prosecuting, said officers from Strolin's own force raided his home in November last year after receiving information from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre.

Police seized two computers from his home and Strolin, who had served for more ten years in the Army before joining the police, was arrested.

Forensic examination of a tower computer and a laptop found more than 6,000 indecent images, with the "vast majority" being at level 1 - the least serious. A total of 99 were at level 2, 58 at level 3 and more than 200 at level 4.

"The computer analysis reveals that there were a number of programmes which are designed to erase the internet history," Mr Meeke said.

The father-of-two, of Chesham, admitted at an earlier hearing one count of possession of 6,893 indecent photographs of children and 12 specimen counts of making indecent images.

Deputy Circuit Judge Lester Boothman jailed Strolin for eight months.

Strolin was also placed on the Sex Offenders' Register and his two computers were ordered to be destroyed.

Claire Evans, defending, described Strolin as a "broken man".

She added: "In any view this is a man with an impressive career of public service."

Strolin worked as a liaison officer dealing with families of road accident victims. He had been highly commended for his work but had struggled to cope with the stress involved, she said.

"They were the kinds of cases which attracted some publicity and media attention," she said.

"The fact is that he would often arrive home late at night with no other family members around. That led to drinking which grew out of control."

Strolin then began looking at child pornography on his computer.

After Strolin's arrest his wife of 26 years left him and moved to the north of England and he lost the family home - a police house - and was renting a room.