A 67-year-old hoarder amassed more than 37,000 indecent images of children over the course of more than a decade, a court has heard.

Police executed a warrant at the address of Adrian Bryan in St Clements Hill, Norwich on January 21 last year.

Suki Dhadda, prosecuting at Norwich Crown Court, said a number of devices were seized and analysed by police.

Bryan was found to have a total of 35,344 category C images of children, as well as a more than 800 category B images and 820 of the most serious category A images.

Also found were 695 prohibited images and 228 extreme pornographic images.

The images relate to a period between August 2005 and January 2019.

Examination of the computer equipment found Bryan had searched for child sex material while he was also found to have sent an e-mail in 2012 stating that he liked children aged between 12 and 18 the most.

When interviewed by police he initially denied having any indecent material which related to child abuse but after being interviewed later by officers made no comment although insisted no-one else was responsible for the material found.

He appeared at court on Monday, October 12 for sentence having previously admitted a total of eight offences which included three charges of making indecent images of children, three of distributing indecent photos of children and another of possessing extreme pornographic images.

Andrew Nuttall, mitigating, said Bryan, who had no previous convictions, had a complex personality and had retreated into himself.

He said Bryan had been insular and had established entrenched coping strategies as well as suffering from a hoarding disorder, low self-esteem and self-loathing.

Sentencing Bryan to 18 months suspended for 21 months, Judge Katharine Moore said these were serious offences committed over 13 to 14 years.

She said he had tried to explain his offending by way of his hoarding tendencies but insisted he “plainly had a sexual interest in children” and told him it was in the public interest to try and treat him so he never repeats this behaviour.

He was ordered to carry out up to 40 days rehabilitation activity requirement (RAR) and was made the subject of an interim sexual Harm prevention order (SHPO) until it is formally set on October 22.