A GOOD Samaritan who handed in a lost wallet to police helped officers trap an internet pervert.

When the wallet was handed into Burnley police, they found it contained pictures of naked females.

And when they later searched the home of Neil Gawthorpe, indecent images of children were found on his computer.

Gawthorpe, 24, of Tower Hill, Clitheroe, admitted three charges of making indecent photographs of a child and two of possessing indecent photographs of a child.

Miss Amanda Johnson, prosecuting, told the court that the wallet had been handed into the police station at Burnley on November 17 2006.

In the wallet they found pictures of naked females and went to visit Gawthorpe with a search warrant on December 19.

They seized his computer which was analysed and led to the offences Gawthorpe had admitted.

There were five images in total, two at level 3 and three at level 1, the least serious.

Judge Philip Sycamore told Gawthorpe the public interest and his future could be dealt with by adopting the recommendation in the pre-sentence report prepared by the probation service.

Gawthorpe was sentenced to a three year Community Order with three years supervision.

He will also have to participate in the Sex Offenders Programme and be on the Sex Offenders Register for five years.

The order also prohibits him from using a computer with access to the internet and he was also ordered to pay £200 prosecution costs.