A Somerset man who told investigators "you stop being a child at 12" after being found in possession of more than 4,000 images of child abuse has been spared jail, investigators said.

Simon Colburn, 50, shared his "twisted" view with National Crime Agency (NCA) officers after being arrested in November 2015, when his flat was raided by investigators who had received information about men sharing indecent images of children.

Computers and pen drives were seized from Colburn's flat in Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, and a trawl through his electronic devices showed he possessed 1,290 images classified as category A - the most serious on a scale crime agencies use to categorise such material - 782 category B images, 2,193 category C images and four classed as "extreme" involving animals.

Officers discovered Colburn, now of Caldicot, Monmouthshire, South Wales, had searched for pre-teen material, had file-sharing software on his laptop and had uploaded 21 files.

In interview, he admitted having images of girls aged 12-14 in bikinis but claimed he could not recall where he got them online.

He said he believed childhood ended when a child was 12 but in a later interview said he had stopped "thinking that way" and was contemplating seeking help for his actions, a spokesman for the NCA said.

He ended his interview by asking if he was going to prison.

Colburn originally denied the offences but pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, possession of indecent images of children and possession of extreme pornography.

He was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on Friday to nine months in prison suspended for two years and given a rehabilitation requirement for 50 days, ordered to sign the sex offenders' register for ten years and given a sexual harm prevention order for ten years.

NCA senior investigating officer Andy Peach said: "Colburn had thousands of disgusting images, held the twisted view that childhood ended when you're 12 and originally denied the offences.

"He only pleaded guilty the day before his trial was due to start.

"Viewing child sexual abuse is a vile crime and we do everything we can to bring those doing it to justice."