A Shetland muscian is facing jail after he admitted possessing almost 700 indecent images of children on a computer memory stick.
Alan Scollay, 51, pleaded guilty to possessing the images when he appeared at Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday.
Scollay lost the memory stick on an island ferry in 2007.
The crime came to light when Scollay, of Strand, Gott, lost the USB stick on board the inter-island ferry MV Daggri on Yell Sound, on June 7, 2007.
Procurator Fiscal Duncan Mackenzie told the court that 693 indecent images were found on the device, of which one was of the most serious nature.
He said that an employee on board the ferry had discovered the stick beneath a passenger seat and put it in to his boiler suit with the intention of finding the rightful owner.
When he put the memory stick into his computer a few days later he was horrified by what he saw and reported his discovery to the police.
Police officers searched Scollay's house and seized electronic media and storage equipment.
Two days later Scollay walked into Lerwick police station and admitted ownership of the USB stick.
During a police interview Scollay said that he had drifted into accessing and downloading child pornography following problems in his marriage and stress at work.
Scollay told police that he was unable to stop his activity despite being disgusted by what he was seeing.
Sheriff Philip Mann deferred sentence for reports, including a psychological assessment, until the April 22.
