A former St Albans headteacher who made thousands of child porn images has been spared jail.

Miraz Triggs, 46, of Ickleton Road, Elmdon, admitted to creating 33 indecent images and nine movies of the most serious category between October 2016 and June 2017, when he appeared in court last December.

He also had more than 21,000 indecent photographs, dozens of movies of a lower category, and porn involving animals.

Triggs was a teacher at various schools in Hertfordshire, including briefly heading St Albans’ Batchwood School in 2016.

He was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday to 18 months in prison for making Category A images, a year for making Category B images, six months each for making and distributing Category C pictures, and a month for possessing prohibited images.

However all sentences are suspended for two years and so long as he does not commit any other offences in that period, Triggs will not spend time inside.

The 46-year-old has to carry out 240 hours of unpaid work and pay £425 in court costs.

Investigation leader Det Con Paul Ross said: “Every time an indecent image of a child is viewed or distributed online, that child continues to be exploited.

“Triggs is a 46-year-old man who at the time of his arrest had been working in a position of trust as a secondary school teacher for around two decades.

“We cannot and will not tolerate this type of crime and we will continue to use all the tools available to us to proactively target those committing these despicable offences.

“This is a direct message to those, like Triggs, who have downloaded, viewed or distributed indecent images of children. I urge you to consider the terrible harm your behaviour is causing to children.

“As in this case, we will catch up with you and ensure you are accountable for your actions in a court of law.”

Triggs is now the subject of a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and a 50 day rehabilitation requirement.

He had worked in Stevenage as a science teacher at Barnwell School and was head of the Da Vinci Studio School of Science and Engineering.

In a letter to Barnwell parents when the allegations became public, the school gave reassurances that the images were taken from the internet as opposed to any direct physical contact with children.