London - A British police sergeant who amassed a huge collection of child pornography through the internet was Tuesday jailed for 15 months, court officials said.

Anthony King, 49, had an impeccable police record and received several commendations during his 26-year career.

But he had an obsession with child porn, said Judge Gerald Gordon at London's Southwark Crown Court.

"This is one of the largest private collections that an individual has had" in Britain, prosecutor Peter Zinner told the court.

"The seizure of the material showed 25 000 images of children either posing erotically or being sexually active." The children were as young as five and were mostly girls.

King, from northwest London, who was in the process of destroying some of the evidence as he was arrested. He has since lost his police job and admitted 13 counts of making indecent images of children.

He was found out after US authorities prosecuted an online company which specialised in the worldwide distribution of adult and child pornography, Zinner said.

"Two to three thousand UK citizens were identified and information passed to officers in this country," Zinner added.

"Officers were shocked to see some were serving police officers. One was identified as the defendant." - Sapa-AFP