A 32-YEAR-OLD male Dudley PE teacher has admitted hoarding nearly 100,000 pornographic images of children which he downloaded from the internet.

Matthew Bullas, who has been sacked from the town's Castle Hill High School, pleaded guilty at Dudley Magistrates’ Court today to nine offences of possessing indecent photographs and video images.

The teacher was immediately suspended from the St James' Road school after the West Midlands Police’s Child Online Safeguarding Team seized a computer and memory sticks from his former home in Halesowen in November 2011 and it was revealed last week he had been dismissed after being charged.

Bullas appeared before district judge Michael Wheeler dressed in a smart suit and tie to answer the charges.

David Truelove, prosecuting, said Bullas, who gave his current address as Hamilton Drive, Wordsley, Stourbridge, had admitted the offences during police interviews.

“He explained to officers what had happened and why he did what he did. He accepted it was wrong to look at these images and to record them in a memory stick,” he added.

The court heard that Bullas had 98,266 still images at the lowest level one rating of indecency, 269 at level two, 67 at level three and 195 at level four.

He also had in his possession 76 indecent moving images of children at level one, five at level two, five at level three, five at level four and five at the most serious level five.

Judge Wheeler sent him to Wolverhampton Crown Court for sentencing on Wednesday June 6 after telling him the charges were “so serious” they were outside his sentencing powers.

He was remanded on bail on condition that he does not have any contact with anyone under the age of 18, that he keeps away from the school and has no internet access.

Prior to the hearing, police said none of the images on his home computer were of past or present pupils of Castle High School and there is no evidence of inappropriate contact between himself and students.

Letters were sent to parents informing them of them of the dismissal of Bullas and a dedicated telephone helpline – 01384 816783 - has been set up by Dudley Council for any worried parents.

Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Hyde, from the force’s public protection department, said: “We do not underestimate the impact this news will have on all those connected with the school and the wider community.

“Because of this, we have been working in close partnership with the school and Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council throughout this investigation - our absolute priority is the safety and welfare of children.

“It is important to stress that the alleged indecent images were not downloaded on school systems and do not feature any child who currently attends the school or has attended the school in the past.”