Two men have been convicted for having “truly disgusting” pornographic images on their mobile phones, sent to them through the WhatsApp messaging service, though one claimed he didn’t watch what he was sent.

Gary Ticehurst and Mark Kelly received pornographic images and footage that were sent to them for “shock value,” the Old Bailey heard, and both pleaded guilty to possessing what the judge called “truly disgusting images”.

The men claimed they had been sent the pornography from an unknown source, the Mirror reported, and that they had been unable to watch it as it “sickened” them.

Mr Kelly, 25, of Stapleford Abbots in Romford, Essex, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing an extreme pornographic image likely to cause injury, and three counts of possessing pornographic images involving animals.

Mr Ticehurst, 28, of Newlands Road on Canvey Island, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing an extreme pornographic image likely to cause injury, and two counts of possessing pornographic images involving animals.

Both men were stopped by police on unrelated matters and were found to have the images on their phones at the time.

Both men defended themselves in court and claimed they were unaware that possessing the images was illegal.

Mr Kelly said he had deleted the videos from his WhatsApp, but had “no idea” that the images would save to his camera roll.

"I didn't even watch the full content of the video. It was very sick and disturbing," he told the court.

Mr Ticehurst, said the photos were on his phone for two months, and that he had “completely forgot about them”.

"I thought they were disgusting and decided not to look at them," he said.

Both men were given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £500 costs.

Judge Worsley told the court that his sentence was “lenient”, but added that neither men had solicited the content themselves, nor had they attempted to share it with others.

He said: "You have pleaded guilty to possessing truly disgusting images.

"It makes a big difference if someone goes out of their way to seek it, or if they're sent it by some mischievous colleague.

"In your case it was unsolicited. This is an exceptional case in some ways. The public should not find this carte blanche to possess material of this nature."