A VALE man found with vile images of extreme child sexual abuse of girls as young as seven has avoided a jail sentence.

Scott Struthers has been put on a sex offenders register for three years after previously admitting possession of the images as well as a video of an "extreme sex act" at his Braehead home.

His own defence solicitor told Dumbarton Sheriff Court last week there was "very little that can be said" in mitigation.

Police raided Struthers' work and led him away after earlier searching his Braehead home where they found a laptop and a Toshiba hard drive in his kitchen.

The devices contained nine category A child abuse images – the most serious – and a 20-minute video depicting an “extreme sex act” along with a horrifying collection of illegal material.

He previously pleaded guilty to offences and the court was told how an internet-connected device using the IP address registered to Struthers’ home contained indecent images of children available for sharing.

It was reported to the police and on July 12, 2016 officers executed a search warrant after Struthers’ wife allowed them entry to the property.

Struthers was not in at the time, but the search was undertaken and a box was found on the fridge containing a Lenovo laptop and a Toshiba hard drive.The police went to Struthers’ workplace and took him back home, where images of children were found on the hard drive.

Last week, defence solicitor Steven Wight said at the time of the offence, first-offender Struthers was in a "vulnerable place" in relation to the break down of his marriage.

But he accepted that was no excuse.

Mr Wight said: "He accepts responsibility for his actions and that this is not a victimless crime.

"He was in full employment until tendering the plea and then was dismissed from his employment.

"He does take these matters very seriously indeed."

Sheriff William Gallacher said, on balance, he could avoid sending Struthers to jail and instead imposed a three-year supervision order as well as 250 hours of unpaid work to be carried out in the community within 10 months.