A Gozitan teacher facing charges of possessing child pornography has been ordered to make a deposit of €3,000 rather than a personal guarantee of €1,000 in order to be granted bail.

Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano decreed that when the Magistrates' Court in Gozo set the personal guarantee it had used its discretion "in a manifestly incorrect way".

Peter Paul Vella was allegedly found in possession of three hard disks containing thousands of pornographic images of children.

The 46-year-old is a teacher who regularly visits state schools all over Gozo. When first arraigned last Thursday, Mr Vella was granted bail by Magistrate Paul Coppini against a personal guarantee of €1,000. But the Attorney General appealed the decision, stressing that the guarantee was too low.

Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano agreed that the amount set was too little. Even if the amount was high, it still would not put enough pressure on the accused to ensure he met the bail conditions because it was only a personal guarantee and not an actual deposit.

The Chief Justice said he agreed with the Attorney General's appeal wholeheartedly because the amount was too small and did not reflect the position of the accused as a teacher with the government and the nature of the alleged crime.

The Chief Justice decided that the rest of the bail conditions as set by the Magistrates' Court, including signing once a week at the local police station, should still stand.