BBC charity boss spared jail over online child porn

A former BBC producer who had "depraved" fantasies about abusing children has escaped jail despite downloading extreme child pornography.

Martyn Smith, 45, who masterminded the charity Sports Relief, admitted downloading 1,410 indecent images of children on or before April.

His arrest followed a previous investigation in Scotland, where a man was arrested and subsequently jailed on paedophilia charges. On his computer were "grotesque" web exchanges with Smith.

Scotland Yard raided Smith's two homes, one in Wandsworth and another in Brighton, where he admitted he had the lurid images on his computer.

At Southwark crown court, Judge Andrew Goymer gave Smith a 32-week suspended sentence, ordered him to attend a sexual offenders treatment programme, and added him to the sex offender register.