A Jersey artist and cartoonist has avoided jail for making indecent images of children. Edward John Blampied has been sentenced to 312 hours of community service.

568 images were found on Blampied's devices.

The 47-year-old admitted three counts of downloading indecent pictures, 44 of which were Category A - the most serious type.

The court heard that material had been viewed over the course of 10 months from November 2022, with some featuring children as young as three and the majority under the age of 10.

Blampied's defence lawyer said he had a 'morbid fascination', and that he suffered from OCD and had looked at the images to 'release anxiety' adding that he had pleaded guilty early on in the case and had shown remorse.

He had served 51 days on remand since appearing in the Magistrate's Court in February.

The artist - who is known for his caricatures and has illustrated local children's books - has been given a two-year probation order, must attend rehabilitation courses and has been put on the Sex Offenders' Register.

Blampied has been referred to the Lucy Faithful Foundation, which is a UK-wide child protection charity that works to stop child sexual abuse.

He has also been told to attend the alcohol and drug services, along with Jersey Talking Therapies.