Former Crowland parish councillor jailed for eight months

 

 

Peter Bird, 72, was caught after police executed a search warrant at his Crowland home in October.

 

 

Lincoln Crown Court heard officers attended at the property after receiving information that an IP address belonging to Bird had downloaded a category B indecent image of a child.

 

 

Mark Knowles, prosecuting, said when police attended at the address Bird immediately admitted “I know why your here.”

 

 

Officers seized various computer equipment and memory sticks belonging to Bird. They were analysed and found to contain 52 indecent images in the most serious category of A, 109 category B images and 432 category C images.

 

 

During police interview Bird admitted being on a site and moving images from a memory stick on to his computer to view.

 

 

Bird had been a councillor in Crowland for four years but following his arrest felt the need to resign his post along with other community roles including Crowland in Bloom.

 

 

The court heard Bird was also recently assaulted outside his local pub and was now planning to move away from Crowland with his wife.

 

 

Bird, of East Street, Crowland, admitted making category A indecent images between January and October 2015, and making category B and C images between 2013 and 2016.

 

 

He must also register as a sex offender for ten years and was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

 

 

Passing sentence Judge Michael Heath told him:”You are an intelligent man. You served as a parish councillor for a number of years and you served as a special constable for 20 years.

 

 

“But over a period you became involved in the viewing of indecent photographs of children.”

 

 

The judge added: “Real children are abused in the manufacture of this material.”