A MAN has been jailed for possessing and distributing indecent photographs of children following a 'painstaking' investigation by North Yorkshire Police.

Jamie Lock, 21, who is from Hartlepool but was living in Tockwith, west of York, at the time of his arrest, was jailed for a total of 18 months after a trial at York Crown Court.

He admitted making and possessing hundreds of indecent photographs of children, including 58 still images and 61 moving images of category A, the most serious classification.

A force spokeswoman said he denied distributing indecent photographs of children, but was found guilty after a four-day trial. "The court heard that he had been selling the images online, and getting paid for doing so," she said.

"He will also be on the sex offenders register for 10 years, and subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order."

She said officers arrested Lock in June 2015, and charged him following a painstaking examination of computer equipment and online accounts.

DC Vincent Formosa said a child was victimised not only when they were abused and an image was taken. "They are re-victimised every time that image is viewed by someone," he said.

"This case sends a clear message that the internet is not a safe anonymous space for sharing indecent images of children. Those that access such images – and those who seek to profit from their distribution – should know that they can and will be traced and prosecuted.”

The spokeswoman said that anyone with concerns about someone’s online activity could report it by going to www.ceop.police.uk or calling 101.