A Catholic priest has reportedly been found storing gay pornography on his office computer.

The church allowed Father Jim Nicol, 46, to continue in his role as an assistant priest despite colleagues discovering the images which had been downloaded from the internet, according to the Daily Record.

Father Nicol was removed from his job as official in charge of the National Marriage Tribunal, but has been allowed to continue his duties as an assistant priest in the Motherwell Diocese, near Glasgow.

The images are said to have been mostly of young men.

A spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland says none of the images involve children or any illegal activity and police have not pressed charges after being informed of the incident.

The paper reports that Cardinal Thomas Winning, head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, has been informed of the case, but has delegated responsibility to the Bishop of Motherwell Joseph Devine, Father Nicol's immediate boss.

Bishop Devine has interviewed the priest, who admits to being gay and prone to "lapses", but he has blamed colleagues at the marriage office for his plight.