A disgraced former rabbi has narrowly avoided jail in Amersham after being caught with hundreds of child abuse images.

Yuval Keren was found to have accessed images showing the abuse of children for more than 10 years.

The 56-year-old, who was once rabbi at the Southgate Progressive Synagogue in north London, was caught following an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Keren admitted possessing nearly 1,700 indecent images of children - including almost 200 of the most extreme category.

He has now been handed a suspended prison sentence of 10 months, suspended for two years.

An investigation was launched by the NCA in July last year after officers received a referral from the online storage provider Dropbox, which told them a user had been uploading suspicious content on their platform.

Officers identified Keren as the user and he was arrested at his home in Pinner, northwest London, where several of his devices were seized.

A total of 1,694 indecent images of children were found on the devices, including 189 category A images.

The images were found to date as far back as 2010 - indicating Keren had accessed the content repeatedly over the past 13 years.

This included his tenure as senior minister at the Southgate Progressive Synagogue from 2012 until his arrest earlier this year.

Keren was suspended from his post immediately following his arrest and no longer holds a position within the Liberal Judaism faith.

He had previously served as assistant rabbi at the Hendon Reform Synagogue between 2009 and 2012.

Keren pleaded guilty to all five charges relating to the indecent images in October and was sentenced at Amersham Crown Court to 20 months in prison, suspended for two years.

He was additionally ordered to complete 40 hours of rehabilitation and 180 hours of unpaid work and will be subject to a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for ten years.

NCA Operations Manager Holly Triggs said: "Yuval Keren had accessed images showing the horrific abuse of children for over 10 years.

“The NCA is committed to protecting children and ensuring that individuals who collect this material, and create a demand for abuse content, are held to account.”