And when officers examined his computer, they found more than 200 indecent images of children.

Some of them were Category A, the most extreme kind, which showed young children being raped.

Stefan Weidmann, prosecuting, said: “This can only lead to the conclusion that the defendant is a disturbed man.

“I don’t advance that description lightly; looked at in the whole, a deeply perturbing image emerges.

“As well as a substantial number of Category A images there was children’s underwear and sex toys, doctored to appear blood stained.

“There was a shopping list indicating his desire to buy a child’s life jacket and arm bands.

“Some of the extreme imagery was very disturbing; there was an image of him sexually abusing his cat and images of people that were deceased.”

After being arrested Elleschild, who was a cleaner for a Welcome Break motorway services, exercised his right to silence.

However he subsequently admitted possessing 69 indecent images of children in Category A, possessing one indecent image of a child in Category B and 93 in Category C.

Elleschild also pleaded guilty to making 65 Category B still images of kids being abused 

Judge Nawaz told Elleschild he appeared to have “an obsessive interest in children” and pointed out that many of the extreme images showed young children being raped.

Judge Nawaz said the probation service felt Elleschild could be “safely managed in the community” and added: “If work can be done to reduce the risk you pose it’s better for you and better for the public.”

He sentenced Elleschild to 20 months imprisonment, suspended for two years.

During that time Elleschild must attend a sex offenders programme.

He will have to sign the Sex Offenders Register for seven years and be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the same period.

No order for costs was made because of Elleschild’s lack of means to pay.