Police found the stash of illicit pictures when they raided Reverend Richard Hart's vicarage in Beguildy in central Wales after tracing his credit card details from websites he had visited, the Press Association reported.

Prosecutors described the find as a 'veritable Aladdin's Cave' of paedophile material. The court heard that some of the images were of girls as young as four.

'The prosecution say beneath the veneer of respectability, there lurked a perverted craving and lusting for young girls,' said prosecutor Ieuan Morris.

At a hearing earlier this month, Hart, 59, admitted 12 charges of making indecent images of children, four of taking indecent photographs of children and five of possessing such images in offences dating back to 1991.

The Church of Wales said it was 'saddened and shocked' at the case. Hart had been suspended from all clerical duties and would face a disciplinary tribunal.

'This was a crime committed despite our stringent child protection policies and procedures,' the Church said in a statement.

'Mr Hart exploited the trust and respect put in him as a cleric by the Church in Wales and by his parishioners and that will have long-term implications.' -- REUTERS