A computer science student who downloaded more than 1,000 pornographic images of children has been jailed.

Andrew Wheal downloaded 1,146 indecent pictures of youngsters on to his computer and saved them on an external hard drive.

Oxford Crown Court heard police raided Wheal’s parents’ home in Glyme Way, Long Hanborough, and his student accommodation in Winchester in March last year.

Wheal, 21, admitted two charges of making indecent pictures of children and was jailed for six months on Friday.

Rachel Drake, prosecuting, said: “The defendant was arrested and interviewed. He was candid enough to say that he had, through Google searches, obtained images of women who looked young.”

Walter Scott, defending, said Wheal was 18 when the first images were downloaded, and added a “relatively low” number had been found.

He added: “He is going to graduate in July in computers. He wants to be a software developer. He may need to rethink that.”

Wheal was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years.