A man has become the first person in the county to be prosecuted for failing to tell police officers a computer password.

Mark Matthews, of Queensway in Bognor, was sentenced on Friday to a total of eight months imprisonment over offences relating to indecent images of children.

When officers raided his former home in Laurel Grove, Bognor, in December 2010, the 32-year-old ran upstairs to disconnect his laptop which was found to be fully encrypted.

Officers uncovered indecent images he was charged with making on a micro SD card in his bedroom but Matthews refused to disclose the password, which is an offence in itself, and research is still continuing to break the encryption.

He had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to making two indecent images of children contrary to the Protection of Children Act and with failing to disclose his computer password contrary to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act.

He was sentenced to eight months in prison and served with a Sexual Offence Prevention Order restricting his access to computers and to children, will be required to register as a sex offender for ten years, and has been barred from any work with children.

Anyone who has information about any alleged offending involving children, either current or historic, can contact Sussex Police, in confidence, via 101 or email to contact.centre@sussex.pnn.police.uk.