A retired managing director has been caught with hundreds of child abuse images - including of two-year-olds being abused by adults.

Lindsay Holman was found to have collected 1,500 pictures and 20 videos featuring the abuse of youngsters when police raided his home at Chalybeate in Haddington last year.

Holman, 64, was at home with his wife when officers arrived with a search warrant but he denied any involvement in possessing the material.

Police then seized several devices from the property and the child abuse images were found on five appliances including his mobile phone and computer equipment.

The recently retired managing director was arrested and charged and he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court today where he pleaded guilty to two charges.

Holman is listed online as a former director of engineering development company Televisua Ltd.

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Fiscal depute Anna Chisholm told the court that police attended Holman’s home with the warrant on May 25 last year after receiving intelligence that images were being downloaded at the property.

Ms Chisholm said Holman claimed he had no knowledge of the images but after the home was searched officers removed electronic devices which were forensically examined.

A mobile phone, a laptop, a system unit and two hard drives were all found to have the vile material contained on them which had been collected over a five-year period.

The total amount of images found numbered 1,500 and 130 of the pictures were rated Category A - the most graphic of all.

The court was also told that Holman possessed 20 child abuse movies with 18 of them considered Category A.

Ms Chisholm said the images and videos showed the sexual abuse of children aged between two and 14-years-old.

Lawyer Peter O’Neill said his client had recently retired. He reserved all mitigation to the sentencing hearing.

Sheriff Kenneth Maciver said: “This is a case where a full [background] report [on Holman] will be required.”

The sheriff placed Holman on the sex offenders' register and sentence was deferred to next month.

The sheriff also granted the Crown motion to have all the electronic devices confiscated.

Holman pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images of children at his home between August 20, 2016 and May 25 last year.

He also admitted a charge of permitting to be taken, or making, indecent images of children between the same dates.