A former magistrate given an MBE for his charity work can today be exposed as a paedophile.

Family man Neil William Morgan spent much of his career working with children and families.

He faces up to ten years in prison after being found guilty of downloading hundreds of pornographic images on his home computer.

Police who raided his semi-detached home on the village green in North Road, Ringmer, near Lewes, discovered he had deliberately sought out internet sites by typing words like Young Gay Boys and Dutch Boys into an internet search engine.

Stored on the computer's hard drive were more than 2,000 images, of which 370 were child pornography.

Morgan, 58, denied the charges, blaming his daughter's boyfriend for visiting child sex sites.

He called an impressive list of character witnesses including Peter Field, the Vice-Lieutenant of the County of East Sussex, a former police officer, a deputy headteacher and a vicar.

He told the jury he had served as a JP for 13 years and been made an MBE for his charity work.

He claimed he had been out organising a charity book fair on the night the majority of the images were downloaded.

But the jury heard he was being kept under surveillance by police at the time and their evidence contradicted this alibi.

After five hours of deliberations, the jury at Isleworth Crown Court unanimously found Morgan guilty on three counts of making indecent photographs of children.

He was found guilty by a majority of 10-1 on four more counts, all dating from November 2001.

He fought back tears as the verdict was delivered and later collapsed into the arms of his wife, who was watching throughout from the public gallery.

Father-of-three Morgan began his working life as a carer at a boys' home in Buckinghamshire and went on to enjoy a 27-year career for the Chichester Diocesan Organisation.

He helped to start a youth club in his village, volunteered as a lifeguard at a local swimming pool and was also a director at Knowles Tooth Children's Centre in Hurstpierpoint, which he ran for three years in the Seventies.

He went off sick when police began their investigation and retired last year.

Andrew Lloyd-Ely, prosecuting, said: "Many of the sites entered had lurid and lewd descriptions. These are sites that have been deliberately entered."

After the verdict was returned, Det Con Mandy Richardson, of the Metropolitan Police child protection team, said: "The Met is committed to bringing to justice those individuals who, through their voyeurism, finance the activities of the individuals who produce this despicable material and condone sexual abuse of children."

A spokesman for the Diocese of Chichester said: "Neil worked for 27 years in the diocese as the director of family support work. These years were exemplary and his work was acknowledged nationally.

"Nothing during his distinguished service gave any grounds for anxiety and we are naturally very sorry."

Judge Crocker adjourned sentencing to a date to be set. Morgan was granted conitional bail.