THE net is closing in on internet porn peddlers thanks to a dedicated police team determined to track them down.

Sitting at a bank of computer screens a team of officers at Greater Manchester Police Obscene Publications Unit are scanning the internet everyday in a bid to stop stomach churning images - many involving young children - being circulated.

Among the more disturbing indecent images the team has uncovered are a picture of a toddler being touched by a man while they both watch a blue movie, and computer created images where hard core porn scenes have children's faces super-imposed on them.

The GMP team - which includes three former Bolton policemen - has been at the forefont of national strategies to investigate porn via the computer network. Since the team began their crackdown on internet porn more than 200 people have been convicted for offences of possession and distribution as a result of tracking them down on the internet.

Every one of them has now been placed on the Sex Offenders Register so that the authorities can keep a closer eye on their activities.

As reported in the BEN, increasing numbers of cases investigated via the internet surveillance system are being brought before the courts.

In the latest case school technician Andrew Spragg, aged 34, of Bury Road, Bolton, was fined £900 at Bolton Magistrates court for nine offences of possessing indecent images of girls under 16.

The unit exploiting the new technology to trap the pornographers is made up of four PCs, one sergeant and one inspector. Head of the unit Insp Terry Jones said: "There seems to be a belief among the people who post these images on the internet or download them onto their computers that they are somehow anonymous.

"People say you cannot police the Internet. I can assure them that is not the case. The internet is vast but our team is constantly monitoring what is going on and we can trace who is responsible. The number of convictions we have secured proves this."

He added: "Our message to these people is: 'You are NOT anonymous on the internet. We will do our utmost to exploit the technology to catch you.'

"Child pornography and paedophilia are among the last taboos left in our society. The technology has led to material featuring children being much more widely available. We think society in general has got to be disturbed by this."

In addition to the sickening visual images circulating around the computer network a disturbing insight into the world of those with a deep sexual obsession with children is seen everyday with e-mail computer 'conversations'.

Insp Jones said: "They are incredibly frank and reveal so much in these conversations about what they like, what kind of images they have and things they claim to have done." While there is no automatic link between people convicted of computer porn offences and those who actually carry out paedophile activities in the form of sexual assaults on youngsters, the team believe they carry out a vital role with each conviction on internet offences leading to the individual being put on the sex offenders register.

Insp Jones said: "We must consider why people choose to distribute and copy these images. If your hobby is football you probably read football magazines and collect other souvenirs. To collect sexual images of children you clearly must have a certain degree of interest in these things.

"If these people then go to apply for a job involving close contact with children and they have been convicted on internet related offences their name will be on the sex offenders register."

Most images are posted on what are known as 'newsgroup' sites on the internet.

When the police team trace the source they seek permission for a search warrant from magistrates and execute a raid.

Computer equipment is seized and then sealed and taken away for detailed examination by a separate department the Computer Examinations Unit. They copy the words and images on the hard drive onto CDs to study them and then seal up the computer hard-drive.

Discussions are underway between police forces at national and international level in a bid to keep pace with the fast changing technology and develop a more co-ordinated approach to clamping down on internet pornographers.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.