A HEALTH trust employee was arrested at his office yesterday on suspicion of accessing child pornography on the internet.

The 48-year-old man's work computer was seized at the Nelson office of the Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Primary Care Trust in Kenyon Road on the Lomeshaye Estate following a police raid at 11.30am.

Other computers were recovered by officers following a search of the man's home in Manchester.

The equipment will now be analysed by specialists from the force's computer crime unit.

The man was last night released on bail pending further inquiries.

Detective Inspector Dermott Horrigan said: "The arrest was made with the full co-operation of the trust, which has been assisting with our inquiries over the last week and will continue to do so.

"They have systems in place to identify abuses of the internet and are keen to reinforce the message that activity of this nature will not be tolerated."

A police spokesman said the arrested man was from the pharmaceuticals side of the trust and was a part-time worker.

The spokesman added: "The man arrested on the suspicion of assessing paedophile images on the internet has now been released on bail pending further inquiries and examination of various computers.

"He was arrested at his place of work at the Nelson office of the Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Primary Care Trust around 11.30am.