Huw Edwards has been spared jail for accessing indecent images of children as young as seven.

The former BBC presenter was sentenced at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London after he pleaded guilty to three counts of “making” indecent images of children.

The court heard how he paid up to £1,500 to a paedophile who sent him 41 illegal images between December 2020 and August 2021, seven of which were of the most serious type.

Of those images, the estimated age of most of the children was between 13 and 15, but one was aged between seven and nine.

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As part of his sentence, the 63-year-old must attend a sex offender treatment programme and 25 rehabilitation sessions.

He is also required to sign the sex offenders’ register for seven years and pay £3,128 in costs and a victim surcharge.

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The court heard that Edwards had told his probation officer that his offending arose out of his fixation on online communications of a sexual nature, his poor mental health, using alcohol and the deterioration of his marriage.

The hearing was told of Edwards’ “long-standing mental health struggles” and how he had been diagnosed with arteriosclerosis - a vascular disease which causes the gradual hardening of arteries - last December.

Mr Hope noted “the effect of these conditions includes impact on and impairment of mood, behaviour and judgement”.

The court heard Edwards is an in-patient at a private hospital.