£30,000 porn video swoop

Police uncovered 1,440 illegal movies and R18 films - which can only be sold through licensed sex shops -- at the suburban home of Anthony Gunter, 53, in Tarring Road, Worthing.

The haul, worth £30,000, was uncovered alongside video copying equipment and customers' details.

Officers raided Gunter's home after receiving complaints from members of the public.

Furious parents raised the alarm with police when they spotted the movies for sale at a car boot sale in Chichester.

Undercover trading standards officers set up a sting operation, buying tapes for evidence, which led to his conviction at Chichester Crown Court.

The material is being held in a secure evidence store at trading standards offices in Worthing and is to be destroyed.

Gunter admitted four offences of offering to supply DVDs and videos with no classification and one offence of offering to supply an R18 film at the car boot sale.

He also admitted seven offences under the 1994 Trade Marks Act after offering forged copies of Minority Report, Swordfish, Spiderman and Eight Legged Freaks.

Gunter, who recently moved to Angola Road, Worthing, admitted a further five counts of possession for supply of adult videos at his Tarring Road home and one count of possession for supply of an R18 film.

Lionel Barnard, West Sussex County Council's cabinet member for public safety, said: "The outcome of the case clearly demonstrates to others who might be considering supplying this type of illegal material that it will not be tolerated in West Sussex."

The court heard Gunter had been selling the mainstream videos and DVDs for £7 to £10, while he charged £20 for the unclassified and R18 films.

He argued in court that he would never have sold porn to anyone under 18.

PC Mark Hillman said: "This operation has taken a significant amount of pornographic material out of circulation."

Judge Charles Byers sentenced Gunter to a 220-hour community punishment order and ordered him to pay costs of £6,398.