The former leader of Kingston Council has narrowly avoided jail after breaching the sexual offences order placed on him when he was convicted of downloading and distributing child pornography.

Derek Osbourne, 63, was told by Judge Alistair McCreath, “Just don’t do it,” when he was given a four-month suspended sentence yesterday for repeatedly viewing pornography and taking part in online chats of a pornographic nature on websites such as Tumblr.

The alternative blogging platform is home to niche online communities and most popular with teens and university-aged bloggers, with more than half of its users under the age of 25.

During sentencing at Southwark Crown Court Judge McCreath said: “Had this been a second breach [of the order] you would be going to prison.

“Breach the order again then you know what will happen. The order is absolutely clear. All you have to do is decide not to access any site of this kind. Just don’t do it.”

The disgraced ex-Liberal Democrat leader was a Kingston councillor for 27 years before his 2013 arrest.

He was released from prison in October 2014 having served half of a two-year sentence for making and distributing indecent images of children.

He was re-arrested in November last year after software placed on his computer showed he had taken part in 10 sexually explicit chats, viewed pornographic images and played online games that were sexual in nature between April and November 2015.

On May 19 he admitted three charges of breaching the court order, which bans him from viewing any online pornography or taking part in sexual online chats.

This includes adult pornography that can usually be accessed legally.

His defence said that none of the images or chats concerned children and that Osbourne had been seeing a psychosexual therapist to deal with his issues.

Defence barrister Ronnie Jaffa said: “The good thing, if there is one in this case, is that it was relating to adult matters.

"When he was released from prison he actually went to access treatment.

"He is quite clearly making efforts not to be involved with child matters or any matters of this kind.”

Mr Osbourne has been seeing renowned psychosexual therapist Victoria Appleyard, who counsels people who have an addiction to online pornography and other sexual problems.

Judge McCreath added: “So far as I can ascertain there was no evidence that Mr Osbourne searched for searched for children pornography.

"The risk was he may have stumbled into it.”

Mr Osbourne was given a four month sentence suspended for 12 months.