An award winning Waltham Forest police officer is appealing against his conviction for possessing indecent images of children.

Adam Holbrook, 29, who is based in Waltham Forest but lives in Chelmsford, was fined £640 in May after 16 images of young girls in erotic poses were found on his laptop.

He claimed they had downloaded without his knowledge as he browsed porn site Prime Jail Bait looking for adult images.

But the officer was convicted of making indecent images of children at Westminster Magistrates' Court on May 16 after a two day trial.

Appearing at Southwark Crown Court yesterday, Holbrook’s lawyer Heather Oliver said: “The first issue is whether he could have known the images were being made.

“The issue of whether the images were indecent, and whether the young women were underage will also be raised.”

Holbrook admitted regularly using porn sites during his trial, but said he did not know how the 16 images had ended up on his computer.

He was arrested on August 7 last year over claims he had 16 child porn pictures on his computer.

The images include underage girls posing in underwear or completely naked.

His appeal, which will last two days, will be heard on October 24 at Southwark Crown Court.

Holbrook had denied one offence of making indecent images of children.

The officer had been commended for his work at a murder scene in Chingford in 2007 where music producer Richie Holmes was shot dead.

He is currently suspended from the Met and will remain so pending a disciplinary hearing which will take place once court proceedings are over.