A FORMER junior European bridge champion who once represented Great Britain was caught with hundreds of indecent images of children – some said to be as young as two years old.

Mark Seymour Smith downloaded the child abuse images on a website and while talking with other paedophiles on a sex chat room.

But Smith was caught when officers visited his Southampton home and seized three electronic devices, containing more than 350 images in total.

Now the 59-year-old, who was a junior Bridge international in the 1980s and has since authored more than 30 card game-related books, has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Prosecutor Stuart Ellacott told Southampton Crown Court police seized two laptops from Smith's home in Victoria Road, Southampton, and an external hard-drive containing a total of 369 indecent images.

In mitigation, Alejandra Tascon said Smith, who won the 1985 European Union Junior Teams Bridge Championship while representing Great Britain, had turned to online chat rooms for companionship and while in the chat rooms had been sent links containing indecent images.

Ms Tascon said Smith, who pleaded guilty to eight counts of possession of indecent images of children, felt “naive and dumb” for downloading the images.

Smith was handed an 18-month sentence, suspended for two years., and was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order and notification requirements, both for 10 years.