A CHILDREN'S hospice nurse caught with a huge stash of child porn images has been ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work in the community.

Stephen McCusker - who looked after youngsters with terminal illnesses at the Rachel House hospice in Kinross - admitted downloading 1,740 indecent images of children over a four-year period at his home in Glenrothes.

His lawyer said the 47-year-old had quit his job; hospice bosses say no children came to any harm.

McCusker, of Julian Road, Glenrothes, Fife, pleaded guilty on indictment to a charge of downloading child porn images between December 2009 and November 2013 at his home address.

Sheriff Derek O'Carroll placed him on a three year community payback order with supervision plus the 250 hours community work. He will also be on the sex offenders' register for three years.