A FORMER councillor caught with three child porn videos including a six-month-old baby being abused has been given a suspended prison sentence and ordered to undertake a sex offenders’ treatment programme.

Police found the videos, which also featured a seven-year-old boy being molested, after conducting a dawn raid at the home of Richard Smith, who was then the Labour representative for Nelson’s Clover Hill ward on Pendle Council.

Burnley Crown Court heard that Smith, who had been smoking cannabis, downloaded the material accidentally from a file-sharing site, while searching for gay porn, and had then deleted the items.

Smith told police that he did the same once before several years ago, inadvertently discovering indecent images, and had immediately reported the matter to the authorities, who accepted his explanation.

But prosecutor Andrew Smith said it was apparent that one of the files had been accessed just four days before the police raid.

Smith resigned as a councillor after his arrest.

All three videos were said to be of the most serious form of child pornography, depicting actual physical abuse of children.

Smith, of Waidshouse Road, Nelson, admitted three offences of making indecent images at a previous hearing.

Bob Elias, defending, said: “He is very sorry to be here and has found the whole experience embarrassing and difficult.

“He is someone who has made a positive contribution to his community, he has pro-society attitudes and has no sympathy with the crimes he now stands convicted of.”

Smith, a former customer service advisor, was given a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. He was also placed under probation service supervision for two years and ordered to attend an internet sex offenders’ treatment programme.

Passing sentence, Judge Simon Newell said that the videos, especially the footage of the baby, were ‘gruesome’ and had involved the sexual abuse of three young people.