THE reputation of a ‘hero’ who saved the life of a teenager stabbed 27 times is in tatters after he admitted downloading indecent images of children.

Former soldier Gareth Crook, 37, was given a six-month prison sentence suspended for two years despite him having a previously ‘impeccable character’.

In 2008, the defendant came across 14-year-old Jessica Knight in Astley Park, in Chorley, after she had been stabbed. He administered emergency first aid, which ultimately saved her.

He was given bravery awards and was commended by a judge for his ‘quick-witted assistance’ and court evidence which resulted in knifeman Frenchman Kristopher Bedder receiving a life sentence.

But when police raided a house he was staying in in March, they found a laptop with 141 indecent images, some of which included under-16s and animals.

When Crook was arrested, he immediately admitted what he had done, telling officers: “Okay, I have done it.

“I cannot remember how many times I have been on it. I stumbled across it and carried on looking at it.”

Daniel Prowse, defending at Preston Crown Court, said Crook, of no fixed abode, had suffered from depression and abused alcohol after being honorably discharged from the Royal Artillery after tours in Northern Ireland and Bosnia.

He said: “This is not only a man of previous good character. This is a man of previous impeccable character who has fallen a long way as a result of depression and alcohol abuse.”

Crook pleaded guilty to six counts of making an possessing indecent images, two counts of possessing extreme images and another of possessing a prohibited image.

The court heard how he had been remanded in custody for two months, meaning he had already served the equivalent of a four-month jail term.

He was also made subject to a two-year supervision requirement and must complete an internet sexual offenders’ programme. He must sign the sexual offenders’ register for seven years and a sexual offences prevention order will be imposed for the same length of time.

Judge Michael Byrne told Crook: “This case is not over today, it is going to last and hang over you for two years.”