The court was told how suspicion was aroused about Angell's inappropriate use of the internet when he handed a computer to the authority's technicians to be repaired.

Images found on it caused Malvern Hills District Council officials to contact police who then seized the replacement laptop from a study at Angell's home in King Edward's Road, Malvern.

Expert analysis showed Angell had used the replacement computer to access child porn sites just after 8am and 3pm on Thursday, November 15, 2006. Images were found of under-age girls posing erotically and sexually. Images had also been found on the original laptop (provided by the council for his committee work) but experts were not able to identify any specific user activity because it had already been reconfigured by the council before it was obtained by police.

Angell had claimed the images flashed up on his screen as pop-ups and that his computer had become victim of a virus. However, this was questioned by computer experts who pointed to evidence showing key words had been typed into a search engine to find child porn sites. The judge also reminded the court that Angell had deleted traces of his internet activity.

Angell had refused to give evidence during the trial claiming he could not remember what had happened and did not have very much to say. The case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report to be prepared. Angell was released on conditional bail and he appeared back in court three weeks later sentencing.

As well as serving on Malvern Hills District Council, Angell was also at one time a member of Malvern Town Council, and was deputy mayor in 2002/3.

Malvern Hills District Council confirmed the allegations and Di Rayner, leader of the council and the Liberal Democrat party, said "I am aware of what has been happening to Mike Angell, but am not prepared to discuss that, that's obviously a police matter. He has only been charged and has not been found guilty."

Councillor Rayner said Angell, of King Edwards Road, Malvern Wells, resigned from the party in November 2006. She added "He has been indisposed since November and he hasn't been to any council meetings since then and is no longer a member of the Liberal Democrats."

When asked if Angell's resignation could cause the party to lose control of the council, she added "There are four weeks of this council to run and at this stage I don't think it's relevant."

A council spokeswoman said Angell would not be standing for the May elections.

Angell, a former Malvern Hills councillor was found guilty of making and possessing indecent photographs of children on a council laptop, was given a six-month prison sentence suspended for two years at Hereford Crown Court.

He had to sign the Sex Offenders Register after a jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts to 12 out of 17 charges he faced. However, the jury decided Angell was not guilty on five charges of making indecent photographs of children.

Judge David McEvoy QC said: "Michael Angell, you have heard the guilty verdicts which were, in my view, inevitable because of the subject of issue in the photographs and appearance of age."

It took the 12 members of the jury just over an hour to reach their verdicts following a 60-minute summary by the judge at Hereford Crown Court. During that time Angell, then aged 61, sat emotionless in the dock only moving to drink water from a plastic cup.