A pervert amassed an “Aladdin’s cave” of child porn featuring almost a quarter of a million sick pictures.

Graham Capocci, 44, spent seven years downloading a library of illegal images which was branded a “horror show” by Carlisle’s top judge.

Some of the 236,000-plus pictures found on Capocci’s computer equipment featured girls aged as young as two to four.

He was jailed for 12 months at Carlisle Crown Court having admitted four crimes.

These were three counts of making indecent photographs of children and one possession charge.

Prosecutor Wayne Jackson said the criminal collection was uncovered after police raided Capocci’s Wellington Row home in Whitehaven.

Some 352 photographs classed in category A – the most serious – were recovered.

So too were 667 category B images and a staggering 234,995 category C pictures.

The court heard Capocci was a man without any previous convictions.

David Birrell, defending, said the defendant had made full admissions in interview.

“He said, frankly, ‘I am addicted’ – his word – to these images, so there was some recognition that was a problem,” said Mr Birrell.

“His previous good character is a reason why this court can legitimately step back from sending him to custody immediately.”

But Judge Peter Davies disagreed. “This is a particularly serious example of indecent images,” he told Capocci, having heard details of the raid by police.

“What they found was an Aladdin’s cave, a horror show of a quarter of a million unlawful images of children, gathered since 2009 – a period of seven years.

“That means you had an insatiable appetite for this material. An exorbitant, catastrophic amount of images.”

Capocci will be subject to the terms of a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.