A CHILD porn pervert who was subjected to a hate campaign by neighbours is behind bars today Shane Waterland, 50, of Donegal Road, Ipswich, appeared before the town's court after having already pleaded guilty before South East Suffolk magistrates to 16 charges of making indecent photos of children and one of distributing these photos.

A CHILD porn pervert who was subjected to a hate campaign by neighbours is behind bars today

Shane Waterland, 50, of Donegal Road, Ipswich, appeared before the town's court after having already pleaded guilty before South East Suffolk magistrates to 16 charges of making indecent photos of children and one of distributing these photos.

Robert Sadd, prosecuting, said Waterland had downloaded 306 indecent images of children and had made use of computer software that enabled others to see the indecent images.

Jailing Waterland for a year, Judge John Devaux said the images - which featured children as young as five - included "distressed children being abused for people like you to gaze on".

As well as jailing him, Waterland was ordered to go on the sex offenders'

register for the next 10 years and was banned from working with children.

Maria Dineen, mitigating, said Waterland had been the subject of a hate campaign after the offences first became public.

She added the word "pervert" had been daubed in paint outside his home, while flour and eggs had been thrown at him and his car. Residents had also sent a petition to the council, urging he be evicted from his home.

Miss Dineen said a jail sentence would result in Waterland being both homeless and jobless.

The residents' campaign was led by Ginger Girling who was angry Waterland had been allowed back to the neighbourhood on bail after admitting the offences.

He said: "These perverts should be locked up. I can't understand how he was allowed to live round children.

"There's plenty of kiddies living round there. I want to protect my grandchildren, but I want to protect all the other children as well."

But Mr Girling, who lives in nearby Bramford Lane, said: "People are angry. At first a lot of people didn't know, but I knocked on their doors and asked them if they wanted a paedophile living in their street.

"It's bang out of order."

A spokesperson for the Suffolk police said: "Those offenders who are considered high risk are prioritised and are the subject of high levels of surveillance and supervision.

"Notifications to individuals, groups or sections of the community are made where it is believed that the risk posed cannot be managed through external controls.

"But it has proved to be good working practise to avoid widespread public disclosure of an offender's details."

They added: "Such publicity can lead to offenders going underground by moving, changing their names and refusing to inform authorities of their whereabouts - this can put the public at greater risk."

n Stuart Walden, 49, of Broom Knoll, East Bergholt, was also jailed for six months yesterday after pleading guilty to 16 charges of downloading indecent images of children on his two computers.

Judge John Devaux also ordered forfeiture of the computers and directed that

Walden should be on the sex offenders' register for seven years.

Robert Sadd, prosecuting, told Ipswich Crown Court that Walden had downloaded 77 indecent images of children.

Maria Dineen, mitigating, said "curiosity" gad initially led Walden into the child porn offending. She added he had described the images as "filthy" and was "angry and disgusted" with himself.