CHILD porn perverts who use the Internet to feed their fantasies are being targeted in a police crackdown.

The move comes after it was revealed that perverts in East Lancashire are using the World Wide Web to access illegal photographs and images.

One person from East Lancashire has already been charged with an offence relating to child porn on the Internet.

The man, from Barnoldswick, has since been sentenced to three years in prison for sexual offences against children.

Police have announced that they are determined to crack down on the practice of using electronic computer links to obtain sick pictures of children.

Officers from Lancashire Police's family protection unit in Clitheroe are leading the fight against the modern day problem.

Insp Phil McEntee said that people with the right computer expertise could access child porn on the Internet within minutes.

He said: "Child porn is one of a number of types of pornography which can be accessed on the web.

"It can be accessed in a matter of minutes and we discovered more than half a dozen extra items had been put on the system in the short time it was being monitored."

Insp McEntee warned that possession of pornographic photographs or pseudo photographs of children was an offence under the Child Protection Act.

He said: "The law caters for computer-generated images. People should not be under the misapprehension that because an image is on a computer it is above the law.

"Officers are very adept at retrieving information from computers and our unit will investigate thoroughly any evidence of child pornography."

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