A FORMER teacher, magistrate and school governor has offered to pay for a course to beat his child porn addiction in a bid to avoid jail.

Paedophile Vincent Copeland, of Leigh Road, Leigh, admitted three counts of possessing indecent images of children at Ipswich Magistrates’ Court in June and appeared at Ipswich Crown Court today to be sentenced.

However, Judge David Goodin unexpectedly adjourned the hearing and ordered a report from the probation service into whether the ten day course - run by the Lucy Faithfull Foundation in Epsom - would be a suitable punishment.

The court heard how the 60-year-old was caught sending three category A, two category B and two category C videos and movies to himself via two email accounts.

Some of the videos in the worst category A involved a boy aged ten.

Copeland was arrested on November 19 last year and his home and electronic devices were searched.

Police found no further images, but Copeland admitted dumping his laptop in a bin in Chalkwell Park and his hard drive in a bin in Leigh Broadway, as well as disposing of five other computers in the past.

He also confessed to regularly looking at photos of boys aged 13 and older in “provocative poses” and chatting with paedophiles on internet forums.

Copeland was a former teacher at Thorpe Bay School – now Futures College – and a school governor at both St Thomas More High School in Westcliff and Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School in Leigh.

Marie Dineen, mitigating, told the court Copeland’s behaviour was sparked by the sudden death of his partner 15 years ago, which sent him into a depression during which he retreated to an online world.

She said: “Curiosity got the better of him and, as is so often the case, what he initially found shocking, he became almost desensitised to.

Judge Goodin indicated he would not be sending Copeland to prison, saying he had “no wish” to send him straight to custody.

He said: “I can’t imagine how that could be to anyone’s advantage at all.”

He added: “You are self-disgusted and your remorse, in my judgment, is real.”

Copeland will re-appear at the court on September 8.