A former Beccles businessman who downloaded more than 85,000 indecent pictures and movies of children has walked free from court after a judge decided he needed help rather than punishment.

Sentencing 50-year-old Kevin Page to a three-year community order during which he will have to attend a sex offenders’ programme, Judge Rupert Overbury said he believed this would provide the public with adequate protection and provide rehabilitation for Page.

He said the images were mainly of young girls aged between eight and 12 and on a level of one to five, with level five being the most serious, 280 of the images were level five and more than 5,000 were level four.

In addition to the community order, during which Page will attend the Thames Sex Offenders’ Programme, Judge Overbury ordered him to be under the supervision of the probation service for three years and to pay �500 costs.

At the hearing on Wednesday he also ordered Page to sign on the sex offenders’ register for five years and made him the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

Page, formerly of Ballygate, Beccles, admitted 16 offences of making indecent images of children and one offence of possessing indecent images of children.

Michael Crimp, prosecuting at Ipswich Crown Court, said police went to Page’s home after being tipped off about his subscription to a web site and arrested him on suspicion of making indecent images of children.

Page told officers he’d been stupid and had shown them discs in an attic room. The court heard that of the 85,772 indecent images 72,421 were at level one, 2,710 at level two, 5,186 at level three, 5174 at level four and 281 at level five.

Nicola May, for Page, said he was a self-employed businessman and had spent six years in the RAF and had been a lifeboat volunteer.

He had no previous convictions and was “utterly ashamed” of what he had done and was committed to getting help.

His marriage had ended and the marital home was going to be sold.