'Crusader' Anthony Donaldson had 2,900 child porn images

A man who claimed he was on a crusade to expose child abusers has been warned he faces prison after being found with 2,900 images of child pornography on his computer.
Anthony Donaldson said a spell in Preston Prison when he met an inmate who had been the victim of child abuse years ago, sparked his decision to investigate what he called the "filthy trade".

He told a Preston Crown Court jury his ultimate aim was to build a case for investigation by Lancashire Police.

Donaldson said he was going to hand over all his evidence at Lancashire Police headquarters as well as to the media.

But the prosecution told the jury that when police visited his home with a warrant they seized his computer with the images downloaded from Internet sites.

Donaldson, 46, of Hawthorne Crescent, Poulton-le-Fylde, denied 10 charges of making indecent photographs of a child and one of possessing the material. He was found guilty.

He claimed to the jury he had walked into a police station on several occasions with details of his investigation but was told they could not take the case further.

The court heard there were no records of such visits.

He was bailed and will be sentenced at Preston Crown Court on November 27.

LEP