A PAEDOPHILE caught with more 2,000 indecent images of children has said it was an ‘addiction’.

Samuel Wood told police he ‘knew it was wrong but couldn’t stop’.

The 26-year-old, of Green Lane, Wallingford, appeared in the dock of Oxford Crown Court on Thursday expecting to be sentenced after he was caught with 90 banned images of children in Category A – the highest category, as well as 378 category B images and 1,643 category C.

Category A images show penetrative sexual activity while category B images involve other sexual activity and category C show ‘suggestive’ content like nude photos.

Prosecutor Claire Langevad explained that officers searched his house in the evening of May 28 and took a computer – where the pictures were found, and an iPhone X – which revealed horrific searches online.

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He was arrested and admitted everything – including all his passwords, the fact that lots of images had already been deleted and that he had started looking for images in 2016.

One of the investigators said that the pictures were of very young children, from about the age of two to 14.

Defending, Kellie Enever told the judge that the case had been sent up to Crown Court under the wrong stature – meaning the judge could not technically sentence him.

Recorder Mukul Chawla QC said it was ‘frustrating’ but that he must sent it back to the Magistrates' Court for it to be resent to Oxford Crown Court.

He told Wood he was free to leave and his case would 'presumably' be heard soon, adding: "You came here to be sentenced and you were no doubt fearful of that sentence."

It is understood that at least two other sentences were postponed because of the same issue yesterday.