A comic who had greater than 35,000 indecent photographs of youngsters has been spared jail.

Tom Binns, whose character is a hospital DJ known as Ivan Brackenbury and who has appeared on Channel 4's 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown, pleaded responsible final November.

The 53-year-old, whose full title is Christopher Thomas Binns, admitted 5 counts of creating indecent photographs of youngsters and considered one of possessing a prohibited picture.

He was discovered to have 1000's of photographs on a number of gadgets, Derby Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Lauren Fisher stated 104 class A indecent photographs - essentially the most critical - have been found, together with 411 in class B and 34,946 in class C.

Ms Fisher additionally stated three prohibited photographs have been discovered, together with one class B and one C transferring picture.

However, the decide warned a few of the photographs might have been duplicates.

All have been downloaded between 26 March and 21 November 2020 - starting, subsequently, simply after the primary COVID lockdown started.

Binns has stated he took an overdose of prescribed drugs for ADHD which induced obsessive-compulsive dysfunction.

In an earlier assertion to the comedy news web site, Chortle, he stated that whereas "under the influence" of the medication he "downloaded and deleted a very large amount of adult pornography over a short period of time".

He added: "Within those downloads, it appears there was some child pornography which I had not sought out nor wanted.

"I've no sexual curiosity in youngsters. I've taken and handed a polygraph stating I've no sexual curiosity in youngsters.

"I am bitterly upset at the hurt this has caused my family, for which I take full responsibility.

"I'll take my punishment for this and hope that my household will not be additional harmed by my actions."

'Huge number of incident images' - NCA

However, Holly Triggs from the National Crime Agency said Binns "intentionally collected an enormous variety of indecent photographs of youngsters".

She added: "Behind each is an abused baby who has had their wellbeing, innocence and privateness violated."

Judge Shaun Smith KC told Binns that had the pandemic not happened, and had he not taken the medication, "you wouldn't be earlier than the court docket".

Despite including that Binns's offending was "simply unacceptable", the decide determined he doesn't pose a threat to the general public and is unlikely to re-offend, handing him a suspended sentence.

He gave Binns a mixed 10-month time period, suspended for 15 months, made him the topic of a sexual hurt prevention order and ordered him to signal the intercourse offenders' register, each for 10 years.

He stated: "You are sickened by what it was that you were downloading and looking at and, quite frankly, you don't need me to tell you that you should be, because this kind of offending has real victims.

"It is true to say that had it not been for COVID, had it not been for the remedy you have been taking at that time frame, you wouldn't be earlier than the court docket, however the truth is that you're.

"You have returned to the law-abiding life that you were living before these offences."