Police officers who searched the home of an Ipswich man after off duty officers saw him appearing to take pictures of children on the Waterfront found he had more than 2,000 indecent images of children on his computer equipment, a court has heard.

Two off-duty policemen from Essex were at a food festival with their families in May last year when one of the officers noticed 53-year-old Robert Kensit focusing his camera on an area where there were children’s rides, Ipswich Crown Court was told.

He and his colleague kept an eye on Kensit and after a while one of the officers approached him and asked him why he was taking pictures, said Christopher Paxton, prosecuting.

Kensit replied that it was a public place but when the officer identified himself Kensit admitted he had a spent conviction for having indecent images of children.

The officer took Kensit’s camera from him and although no indecent images of children were found on it, more than 2,000 indecent images and 50 movies were found on computer equipment at his home, said Mr Paxton.

He said that on a scale of one to five, with level five being the most serious, there were 2,109 level one images, 220 level two images, 292 level three images, 313 level four images and one at level five.

The court heard that Kensit had appeared before a court in 1999 – for making indecent images of children and was given a probation order.

Kensit, of Ritabrook Road, Ipswich, admitted making indecent images of children on or before May 19 last year and was sentenced to a three-year community order during which he will have to attend the Thames Valley Sex Offenders Treatment Programme.

He was also made the subject of a 10-year sexual offences prevention order and ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register.

Sentencing him, Judge John Holt said that ordering Kensit to attend a treatment programme was far more constructive that sending him to prison.

Andrew Shaw said his client had been dismissed from his job and was now unemployed.