A JUDGE has asked for a sex grooming investigation after a cricketer was found guilty of raping a 14-year-old girl in a hotel room.

Ajmal Mohammed, 40, of Audley Range, Blackburn, plied the victim with alcohol and she woke up in a Blackpool hotel room to find him committing the offence.

He had earlier used a mobile phone to film himself sexually assaulting the girl while she slept.

The jury also found Mohammed guilty of sexual assault and taking the girl out of the lawful control of her parents, with intent to commit a sexual offence.

He admitted a separate charge of a sexual assault on the girl but he was cleared of another charge of attempted rape, on the direction of the judge.

Judge Edward Slinger warned Mohammed that he would receive a lengthy custodial sentence after he was found guilty by a jury at Preston Crown Court. Adjourning the case for reports, he said he was aware of media reports, particularly in the Blackburn area of young girls being targeted by older men.

He asked the police and Probation Service to look into whether there was any link to grooming in this case.

The verdict came a day after the Home Office commissioned a national inquiry into the issue of sex grooming, a major victory for the Lancashire Telegraph Keep Them Safe campaign.

We have called for action to tackle the problem of groups of older men, predominantly Asian, targeting young girls and luring them into committing sex acts and prostitution.

Mohammed, who played for Blackburn Northern in the Ribblesdale League last season, was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on January 10 The court was told that Mohammed attacked the girl after taking her to the hotel from her home in Accrington on February 15.

The girl took an overdose in the days after the incident. She first met Mohammed last summer when he approached her and an older friend at a bus stop and told them that he was only 24 years old. Mohammed arranged a trip to Blackpool for himself, the two girls and a friend of his that they agreed to go on.

They met on February 15 at Morrisons supermarket in Blackburn town centre, where he worked at the time, before setting off to Blackpool.

The victim reported the attack days later after being admitted to hospital. Police arrested Mohammed and seized his mobile phone which still contained the 51-second video.

After the case, Det Sgt Mick Cross, who worked on the case, said officers received a complaint that Mohammed had taken a girl from Blackburn to a hotel two years previously. The incident was reported by the hotel, which was in the Greater Manchester area to local police, who then contacted their Lancashire counterparts.

DS Cross said: "The case was referred and an investigation was launched but there was no further action taken because of a lack of evidence on the girl's behalf.

"It was left on file and by virtue of that referral that helped us a lot in this case.

"We are extremely pleased at the result of this case.

"The Lancashire Telegraph campaign also helps victims of this type of incident and highlights the work that is going on and we would encourage anyone affected by this type of incident to come forward."