A former Wiltshire police inspector who won bravery awards during his thirty year career has pleaded guilty to possessing extreme pornography involving bestiality and is to be sentenced by a judge in April.

Ian Stevenson, 57, of The Marsh, Wanborough, was to have stood jury trial at Gloucester Crown Court today but at the last minute his barrister asked Judge Martin Picton for an indication of what sentence the retired officer would receive if he pleaded guilty to the charge.

Judge Picton said he would not be looking at an immediate prison term and would plan to impose a community sentence of some kind.

Salisbury Journal: Former police inspector Ian StevensonFormer police inspector Ian Stevenson (Image: Archive)

Stevenson was given time to consider his position and when he returned to court he pleaded guilty to the charge that he had extreme porn involving 144 illegal images between 2012 and 2020.

The judge adjourned sentence until 6th April so that the probation service can prepare a pre-sentence report on Stevenson.

Defence barrister Alun Williams said the basis of Stevenson's guilty plea is that the illegal images were on a device which Stevenson had and that he clicked on the link to them more than once rather than deleting them as soon as possible.

Prosecutor Christopher Smyth said Stevenson was not a man of entirely good character - he had been convicted by Bristol Magistrates of assaulting two police officers who were arresting him in relation to another enquiry and he had been conditionally discharged and ordered to pay them £250 compensation each.

Otherwise, said Mr Smyth, Stevenson was of good character and had served 30 years in the police, receiving several bravery awards in that time.

Mr Williams said: "He had long service with the police, which he would wish to have reflected by the court in sentence. As far as family circumstances and his mental health are concerned the probation service will be able to help. "

The judge said it might also be helpful for the court to have a report from Stevenson's GP.

"We need to tell the probation service I am looking at a community disposal," he said.

Insp Stevenson won a national bravery award in 2018 after he saved a woman’s life on train tracks near Salisbury. He wrestled the woman out of the path of an approaching train in May the previous year.

The officer was with others searching for the woman who had walked out of her home saying she was going to kill herself.

He spotted her by the line and hearing a long blast on a train horn, realised it was approaching. He crossed the track to get to the woman and moments later the train appeared and she ran onto the track. He grabbed her and got her out of the way seconds before the train passed.

After being named south west regional winner at the National Police Awards, he was described as a “shining example of bravery and dedication to public safety” by chief constable Kier Pritchard.