A 'LONER' who sent an undercover police officer a video of him performing a sex act on himself asked him to show it to his two fictional daughters who he thought were aged five and eight.

When police found hundreds of indecent images of children being abused on the phone of unemployed Graham Pilkington, 25, he told them he was sexually attracted to children and asked for help.

Burnley Crown Court heard how Lancashire Police were contacted by officers in Kent over concerns about Pilkington and a conversation he had engaged in on a Russian paedophile website.

Prosecutor Paul Brookwell told the court how Pilkington had been communicating with a man he knew as Ben but was actually an undercover officer.

Mr Brookwell said: "During the period of time the defendant has engaged in conversation with Ben.

"During the course of the conversations they became sexualised. They take place between March 5, 2016, and April 13, 2016.

"In one of the conversations he writes 'I'd love to see pictures of your two daughters'. He thought they were aged five and eight. He goes on to describe what he finds attractive in young children.

"It gets to the point where he is asking this person if he thinks his daughters would like to see images of him performing a sex act on himself, which he then sends."

Police raided Pilkington's home address in Burnley on March 5, last year, and found an iPhone containing hundreds of indecent images, featuring girls as young as nine being abused.

Of those six were of the most serious Category A, 17 were Category B and 222 were Category C.

Mr Brookwell said in an initial police interview in May he denied any offence had taken police but made a full confession to officer in November when presented with the mobile phone evidence.

Mr Brookwell said: "During that second interview he told police 'I am sexually frustrated. I am ashamed of what I've done. I shouldn't have done it. I am a loser. I need help. Please can you get me some help'."

Defending, Isobel Thomas said her client had shown genuine remorse for what he had done.

Miss Thomas said: "He does fully accept that unfortunately he is someone who is sexually attracted to children.

"This is something that has been difficult for him to understand. He wants to get help in relation to this.

"He lives a pretty lonely life. He has got few friends. He has never had a relationship. He describes himself as a loser and says nobody likes him."

Pilkington admitted to a single charge of attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act and three counts of making indecent images of a child.

Judge Jonathan Gibson sentenced Pilkington to 14 months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered him to complete a 40-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

He was also made subject of a 10-year sexual harm prevention order, ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years and told to attend a sexual offenders programme.