David Hines: Told BBC Panorama programme the club was 'great'

Sussex police raided his flat and found a "massive library" of child pornography, police computer expert Nick Webber told BBC One's Panorama programme.

There were 42,000 paedophile images on his computer and he had distributed 1,642 images to 17 other internet users in the previous six days.

A loner who lived opposite a school in St Leonard's, Baldock spent hours every day logging on to the Wonderland Club.

"He had no other life," said one detective.

Gavin Seagers spoke of abducting and raping children

Hines said he had been abused as a child and showed no remorse for the club's activities.

"We didn't see it as abuse, we just saw it as some members being in relationships with children," he said.

Hines said it was "great" to find on the internet people who shared his interest in paedophilia.

He said: "I had friends all over the world. I never had so many friends before. There was always someone who'd get in touch and say 'trade?'."

Andrew John Barlow: unemployed from Milton Keynes

Police followed him constantly but did not arrest him until they were able to swoop on the entire ring.

Seagers managed to use his computer literacy to make it very difficult for detectives to get access to the paedophilic images in the site.

When they eventually encrypted the site, they discovered 17,000 images of children.

Seagers pleaded guilty at the first available opportunity to the charges.

Antoni Skinner: a computer consultant from Gloucester

Police said Skinner was another who used his computer skills to develop a "highly sophisticated" method of encryption and officers could only detect 390 images.

However, police found evidence that he had transmitted thousands of pictures in the previous months.

A good father and a loving family man

Justin Rouse, counsel for Stephens

But police were able to trace the traffic from his computer and discovered Barlow had sent an astonishing 24,230 images of children to his cyber-pal Seagars.

His counsel John Riley argued that Barlow should receive treatment in a clinic.

Frederick Paul Stephens: a taxi driver from Hayes

Despite having a young family, Stephens had not used a password or encryption to prevent others having access to his material.

Stephens was described by his counsel Justin Rouse as a "good father and a loving family man" who was "filled with self loathing" for what he had done.

Mr Rouse said Stephens was found by social services to be no threat to his own children.

"He is not in the same category as those who have taken the pictures," Mr Rouse told the court.

Ahmed Ali: a taxi driver from London

His counsel Lewis Power said Ali had left school at only 16 and had fully expected a custodial sentence.

Nicknamed 'Caesar', police found 13,000 obscene images on his computer.