ONE of Stoke-on-Trent’s most senior Scout leaders has resigned after being caught with more than 11,000 indecent images of children.

Former teacher Brian Billington’s reputation is today in tatters after he was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register. The 71-year-old assistant commissioner for Stoke-on-Trent District Scouts had been held in ‘great esteem’ until his arrest when police discovered the ‘vile’ pictures on a computer at his home in Blurton.

Billington’s hoard of 11,019 images included 82 ranked as category A – the most serious – in a span of offending that covered more than six years.

Now the Scout Association has condemned Billington’s actions as he was sentenced to a three-year community order at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.