Sickening : More than 2,000 indecent images were found when police raided the home of Mike Davies , pictured , in Llantrisant , South Wales , last June . A former council worker who was caught with more than 2,000 indecent images of children received a redundancy payout worth an estimated £30,000 after keeping his arrest secret from bosses . A sickening collection of pictures of children as young as five being sexually abused was discovered when police raided the home of Mike Davies , in Llantrisant , South Wales , last June . But the 52-year-old failed to tell his then-employers , Cardiff City Council , about the criminal investigation and continued in his post until it was 'deleted ' as part of budget savings this year . Davies , a long-serving council employee , admitted to possessing the images and videos , including sexual pictures involving animals , when he appeared at Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday . He was handed a three-year community sentence and ordered to undertake a three-year therapy course to cure his 'weird obsessions ' . He will also be on the Sex Offenders ' Register for five years . The explicit material , which included sexual images involving animals , were found on Davies ' computer when police searched the home he shared with his partner and four-year-old child . He has recently been living at an address in Caerphilly , South Wales . Today it emerged that senior council officials were only made aware of the proceedings after the conviction and that Davies received a severance package from the council as recently as last month . Davies , who held a number of roles at the council , is likely to have received a payout of around £30,000 - the maximum amount available to an officer of his age , according to Wales Online . The council is now taking legal advise on the matter and is 'considering what steps it can take going forward ' . A Cardiff City Council spokesman said : 'Mr Davies ' post was deleted as part of this year 's budget savings . 'We want to reiterate in the strongest terms that senior management was unaware of any criminal proceedings against him until the day of his conviction . 'The organisation is appalled that Mr Davies failed to reveal the criminal investigation to the council at any point . Sentenced : Davies , a long-serving council employee , admitted to possessing the images and videos , including sexual pictures involving animals , when he appeared at Cardiff Crown Court , pictured , on Wednesday . 'The City of Cardiff Council is taking legal advice on this matter and considering what steps it can take going forward . ' Assistant Chief Constable Richard Lewis said : 'South Wales Police is required to comply with existing data protection legislation when it investigates any case and is not allowed to disclose to an employer when a person has been arrested or charged with a criminal offence . 'The exception is if the role is a notifiable occupation , which it was n't in this case . 'While South Wales Police is committed to protecting its communities from sex offenders the force also has to adhere to its legal obligations under the existing legislation . 'This was a particularly unpleasant case which was thoroughly investi-gated by South Wales Police , resulting in Mr Davies appearing before the courts . 'Cases of this nature are extremely serious and for every child abuse image there is a victim . '
bail Davies was caught with a cache of images last June . But the 52-year - old failed to tell his then - employers , Cardiff City ##es . remained in his post until it was ' deleted ' as part of budget cuts this year . On Wednesday , he admitted to possessing the explicit images and videos . Council only months of investigation after his conviction , it emerged today . police handed him payout worth around £ 30,000 as recently as last month .