A PAEDOPHILE was living less than half a mile away from Leominster’s new primary school before he was jailed for distributing child porn images by email.

Michael Brown, 31, was jailed for 20 months at Gloucester Crown Court after admitting 11 offences of making, possessing and distributing illegal images and videos of children.

At the time of the offences Brown, who admitted having a sexual interest in boys aged six to 11, was teaching at Ellwood Primary School, Coleford. He was sacked after his arrest.

Brown, formerly of Lydbrook, but now of Hereford Terrace, Leominster, pleaded guilty to six charges of making indecent images, three of possessing them and two of distributing them to others by email.

Jailing Brown, Judge William Hart said that because there was no evidence of him abusing children at his school he did not treat his employment as a teacher as an aggravating feature.

“I am unable to suspend the sentence. People must recognise that if they pass these images on to other like-minded people an immediate prison sentence cannot be avoided.”

Judge Hart made a sexual offences prevention order against Brown and ordered him to sign the sex offender register for 10 years.