A former Midland health chief found to have more than 17,000 pornographic images of young girls stored on his computer has walked free from court.

Michael Stevens, aged 56, lost his £125,000-year job as finance director of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust after police raided his home in Tenbury Wells in February 2010.

Stevens, now living in Old Tannery Court, Severnside South, Bewdley, pleaded guilty at Worcester Crown Court to possessing indecent images of children.

He was given a three-year community order, ordered to pay £1,300 costs and must sign on the sex offenders’ register for five years.

Mr Stephen Davies, prosecuting, said a search warrant was executed as part of a police crackdown called Operation Alpine. He said several laptops were seized containing 17,265 images.

Mr Davies said the vast majority of these — 13,311 — were the least serious at Level 1. A total of 101 were categorised as Level 5. They were downloaded between 2007 and February 2010.

Stevens has been banned from having unsupervised contact with children under 16, meaning he cannot spend time alone with his daughter, the court heard.

Miss Ruth Edwards, defending, said it was a “staggering amount” of images but there was no suggestion he had shared or distributed them and he was not considered a danger to children. She added that he had been having therapy.

The court heard Stevens had no previous convictions. He is now unemployed.

Judge Richard Rundell told him: “Why people like you with a good job and an apparently acceptable home life want to view pornographic images of children is beyond me. But you did and you did it in spades.”

He said the sentencing guidelines pointed to a jail term but he decided this was not the best action. He added: “People like you need treatment and help.”

Judge Rundell said the unsupervised contact order with children will continue but Stevens will be allowed to see his daughter unsupervised, with the approval of children’s services.