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A man who photographed himself trying to have oral sex with a collie dog was identified by a distinctive tattoo on his hand.

Police found the obscene selfie on Norman Lever's computer after he was caught downloading child abuse images from the internet.

Officers recognised the animal in the picture as his mother's collie dog and were able to establish that the man whose penis was in its mouth was Lever by a tattoo on his left hand.

They were able to prove that the photo was taken at his home in North Devon by the pattern in the carpet in the background.

Jobless Lever, aged 31, of Bradwick Cottages, Kentisbury, near Combe Martin, admitted possession of extreme pornography and three counts of making indecent images of children.

He was jailed for 12 months, suspended for two years, and ordered to attend a sex offenders course. He was also ordered to sign on the sex offenders' register for 10 years and made subject of a sexual harm prevention order for the same time.

Judge Geoffrey Mercer, QC, sentencing at Exeter Crown Court, refused a police application to make him pay a £252 kennel bill which was amassed when the collie was taken into protective custody for 20 days.

He told Lever:"I have to sentence you for the possession of photographs which to any right thinking person are quite repulsive. This is a serious offence.

"It is deserving of a prison sentence, but having read the probation report, I have no doubt whatsoever that the public interest is better served by you going on a sex offenders' programme."

Gordon Richings, prosecuting, said police raided the house which Lever shared with his mother on January 15, 2015, because of information suggesting he had been accessing child abuse images.

Three computers were sent for analysis because Lever denied any downloading and 274 child images were found along with seven extreme images of bestiality. He said:"On closer inspection, a link was found between the defendant and the image of a female collie type dog. It was depicted in some images and there was one in particular.

"It was identified as a dog belonging to his mother and which lived in the same household as him. It showed a man's penis in the dog's mouth. It is being held in the hand of a man with a prominent tattoo on his left hand, which matched that on the defendant. The background showed a carpet with the same pattern as that in his house. The dog was seized."

Mr Richings said the dog was held in kennels at South Molton from April 6 to 26, 2016 at a cost to the police of £252, before being returned to Lever's mother.

Richard Crabb, defending, said Lever's mother had given the police and animal welfare authorities assurances she would not leave the animal alone with her son again.

He said Lever acted as a carer for his mother and is now unemployed after losing his job as a shelf stacker because of publicity about his arrest.

He urged the judge to follow the recommendations of the probation report and said Lever would benefit from going on a sex offenders' programme.