COMPUTER programmer Stuart Stanfield's wife blew the whistle on him after she discovered child pornography on his computer.

Armed with a search warrant, vice squad officers carried out a dawn raid on his West End flat and he immediately admitted to having the material.

Andy Houston, prosecuting at Southampton Crown Court, said Stanfield's laptop was seized, which showed he had downloaded photos of young girls engaged in indecent acts.

The 25-year-old admitted to police he had looked at the pictures three times and knew what he had been doing was illegal. He left the images, later found by his wife, on his computer, being "too lazy'' to delete them.

James Newton-Price, defending, said Stanfield had downloaded hundreds of pornographic images, of which 30 involved children.

He told the court: "He had not been seeking out child pornography but didn't do anything about weeding out those images involving children. He accepts he is sexually interested in older teenage girls. For his own gratification he has downloaded pornography on a number of occasions but he emphatically denies any suggestion he is a paedophile.''

Mr Newton-Price added that, after the break-up of his marriage, Stanfield had taken an overdose and spent two days in hospital. He also quit his job.

Stanfield, of Quob Lane, West End, pleaded guilty to 30 charges of making indecent photographs.

He was fined £2,500 with £585 costs after Judge Paul Darlow accepted Stanfield had not distributed the material and a pre-sentence report stated he did not present a risk to children. He was also placed on the sex offenders' register for five years.