Pete Townshend contemplated suicide after child porn arrest

The Who rocker Pete Townshend was so distraught when he was branded a "paedophile" following his 2003 arrest he contemplated suicide.

The star was investigated by police after he used a credit card to access a website that allegedly advertised child pornography.

Townshend decided not to fight the charges against him and accepted a police caution, although he is adamant he only searched the site as part of research into the horrors of the child porn industry.

He has now written about the turbulent time following his arrest in his new book, Who I Am, revealing he sank so low, he considered taking his own life.

Townshend writes, "If I had a gun I would have shot myself. It really did feel like a lynching."

In an interview with The Times newspaper, he says, "What I did was insane... (I didn't speak out to defend myself) because there was no sense of 'the truth will out'. I've had the misfortune to read online comments where I'm judged as a paedophile because I've got a big nose.''

He also reveals he wanted to help victims of child porn because of his own experiences, adding, "It's White Knight Syndrome. You want to be the one that's seen to be helping.... I had experienced something creepy as a child, so you imagine, what if I was a girl of nine or 10 and my uncle had raped me every week? I felt I had an understanding, and I could help.''