A VICAR’s son who had a foot “fetish” and downloaded thousands of indecent images of children has been spared jail.

Paul Holt, who lives at Harwood Vicarage, in Stitch Mi Lane, pleaded guilty to 16 counts of possessing indecent images of children and distributing them, after 2,565 images were found on his computer.

His offending came to light as a result of Operation Spade, an international investigation led by Canadian Police into the activities of an online retailer based in the country which was trading as a film distribution company.

Police found that many of the films available many of the films available contained child pornography and indecent images of children, and offenders were passed on to relevant police forces around the world following raids in Canada.

Officers raided the vicarage at Christ Church Harwood on December 3, 2013, where Holt was found in an upstairs bedroom.

They seized a computer which was sent away for examination.

In an initial interview with police, Holt, the son of the Rev Wendy Oliver, said his real interest was in “the feet of young children”, but admitted there was a possibility of indecent images being on the computer.

Bolton Crown Court heard that Holt, who has a degree in youth work and theology, said he had been interested in feet since he was a young boy, but Judge Timothy Stead said it is clear that his motivation was sexual.

However, experts found indecent images of children aged nine to 13 on the computer, with the images ranging from category A, classed as involving penetrative sexual activity, to the less serious categories B and C.

He had been downloading the images for a period of 10 years.

The court was told that Holt had found making the admissions to his family “excruciating” and “embarrassing”, but that he had referred himself to a counsellor in a bid to change his ways and was remorseful.

Defending, Nicola Gatto told the court that at the start of the offending behaviour, in 2007, Holt’s marriage had broken down and he had started to drink heavily.

In addition, she said that Holt had begun to question whether he was “truly heterosexual”.

Ms Gatto said: “Mr Holt lives with his mother, who is the local vicar. She is fully aware of these matters and she has taken a compassionate, but at the same time firm approach.

“She wants to give her son full support, but is encouraging him to be as open as possible.”

Holt, aged 43, also pleaded guilty to distributing category A images, which the court was told involved sending indecent images to the owner of a website in a bid to “validate” a bid to gain further such images online.

Addressing Holt, Judge Stead said: “Clearly you are a man who has had significant problems.

“You have had problems in your personal life, you have had problems with regard to the proper and responsible use of alcohol, and it is quite apparent that you have struggled with sexual issues.

He added: “I have no doubt at all that your possession of the indecent images in this case was sexually motivated.

“It is a good thing that you have accepted that some sexual gratification has been involved in your dealings with these images.”

Holt was sentenced to an intensive community order, which involves three years supervision and attending a sex offender group work programme.

Addressing Holt, Judge Stead added: “Don’t let your mother down, don’t let yourself down. Do what is expected of you.”

Holt will also have to sign the sex offenders register for five years.

After the hearing, Detective Sergeant Pete Astbury from The Phoenix Exit Team, Bolton's Joint Agency Child Sexual Exploitation Unit, said: "I know there will be parents who have children that have come into contact with Holt who will understandably be concerned for their children's welfare.

"I want to stress that we have no evidence to suggest that any physical abuse or contact offending has taken place, the images Holt downloaded were taken from the internet.

"Nevertheless, the seriousness of downloading and possessing indecent images of children cannot be understated. It is people like Holt who download and view child pornography that creates the market for those who abuse children and seek to profit by selling these horrendous images.

"This case shows that enforcement agencies across the globe such as ourselves and CEOP are working tirelessly, and in partnership, to root out anyone who views child pornography and protect vulnerable children who are at risk of abuse."