DUTIFUL police officers who needed counselling after viewing some of the most extreme indecent images of children ever seen have received praise for their efforts in bringing a paedophile to justice.

The team of five officers, from the Essex Police Online Investigation Team, were forced to sift through hundreds of sickening images of child abuse while investigating perverted 70-year-old Russell Jameson.

Jameson, of Ongar Road, Dunmow, was jailed for five years last July after admitting 16 charges relating to sexual offences.

The former financial advisor gathered a collection of 1,802 indecent pictures and videos of children of the most serious Category A.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard some of the images related to the torture of babies as young as 18 months old.

An Essex Police spokesman said: "During an extremely distressing investigation which led to two officers attending counselling sessions, the team remained resilient and their professionalism led to the offender being jailed for five years.

"The judge in the case also commended their investigation."

DS Clayton Ford, DC Jenna McQueen, DC Gill Partridge, PC Sam Petken and PC Dave Goodrum were commended by Chief Constable BJ Harrington for their commitment and resilience.

The group were invited to a dedicated ceremony at the headquarters of Essex Police, in Chelmsford, where they received their commendations in front of Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex Roger Hirst, fellow colleagues and their families.

In November 2017, the group carried out a thorough investigation which required them to categorise the images - the worst ever seen by the online investigation team.

Chief Constable Harrington said: “I don’t give commendations lightly, they are the one of the highest awards I can give so that’s the quality of the work we’ve heard about today.

“We help people, we keep them safe and we catch baddies and these commendations show where we’ve helped people by keeping them safe, by disarming them and by convicting bad people and keeping the public safe from burglaries and online sexual abuse."

Mr Hirst added: “It’s an extraordinary thing that police officers and the police service do on a regular basis.

"I’ve been out on duty many times with them and I’m constantly amazed by the effectiveness you have in diffusing high tension situations, helping people resolve crisis and dealing with criminals."