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Man jailed for distributing child sex abuse images

Lincolnshire Police Custody photograph of Hedley Heddison, who is bald with a large white beard and wearing a brown jacket with white shirt and blue tie.Lincolnshire Police
Lorry driver Hedley Heddison was arrested at a Scottish ferry port in 2023

A lorry driver has been jailed for two years after admitting making and distributing indecent images of children.

Hedley Heddison, 54, of Eight Row, Eagle Moor near Lincoln, was caught after police became aware of sexualised conversations he had shared with another man on WhatsApp.

Lincoln Crown Court heard many of the images featured young children and were in the most serious category A.

Other images distributed by Heddison included photographs of babies, the court was told.

He was arrested at a ferry port in Scotland in January 2023 after police placed a marker on his lorry.

During interviews, Heddison accepted having the material but claimed he gained pleasure not from the images but from sending it to other WhatsApp users.

Heddison pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children, three charges of distributing indecent images of children, one charge of possessing 13 extreme images and one charge of publishing extreme material.

In total, Heddison admitted making 92 images in the most serious category of A, making 86 category B images and 123 category C images.

He admitted distributing 30 category A images, distributing 28 category B images and distributing 39 category C images.

Joanne Davies / Geograph Lincoln Crown Court a two-storey Victorian Gothic building with stone pillars, crenellated roof and six towers with ivy growing up its wallsJoanne Davies / Geograph
Heddison was jailed for two years at Lincoln Crown Court

His lawyer Tom Heath said his client had "taken steps with professional help to address matters."

"He accepts there is something wrong with him and his interests," Mr Heath said.

"There is a stigma that will long outlast this case."

Passing sentence, Judge Simon Hirst said there was mitigation in the fact that Heddison had sought help

He added that, given the nature of the images, "only custody is appropriate in this case".

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