A 32-YEAR-OLD male teacher from Halesowen has been sacked and police have charged him with possessing nearly 100,000 indecent images of children downloaded from the internet.

Matthew Bullas, who taught at Castle Hill High School, Dudley, was arrested at his home on November 16 and charged yesterday.

His personal computer equipment had been seized and passed to West Midlands Police’s Child Online Safeguarding Team.

The St James’ Road school was informed of his arrest and he was immediately suspended.

Police say none of the alleged images on his home computer were of past or present pupils of the school and there is no evidence of inappropriate contact between himself and students.

He has since been dismissed and letters have been sent to parents informing them of the decision.

Bullas will appear at Dudley Magistrates' Court next Wednesday (May 9) to answer nine charges of possessing indecent images.

These include one charge relating to 98,266 indecent still images and five charges of possessing video images.

A dedicated telephone helpline – 01384 816783 - has been set up by Dudley Council for any worried parents.

Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Hyde, from the force’s public protection department, said: “We do not underestimate the impact this news will have on all those connected with the school and the wider community.

“Because of this, we have been working in close partnership with the school and Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council throughout this investigation - our absolute priority is the safety and welfare of children.

“It is important to stress that the alleged indecent images were not downloaded on school systems and do not feature any child who currently attends the school or has attended the school in the past.”

Jane Porter, acting director of children's services said: "We can confirm that a member of staff at Castle High School has been dismissed following an investigation. We are unable to comment further as this may prejudice legal proceedings."