A DANGEROUS pervert who sent obscene text messages to girls he thought were aged as young as 12 was actually communicating with paedophile hunters.

Preston Crown Court heard how 47-year-old Alan Oakshott was arrested in January after sending sexually explicit messages to several teenagers he believed were aged between 12 and 14.

The ‘girls’ were in fact adult members of so-called paedophile hunter groups, who alerted police to Oakshott’s illegal activities.

In evidence presented to police, it was found Oakshott, of Blackburn Road, Darwen, had sent a number of messages between November 2017 and January 2018.

He was charged with a number of offences, pleading guilty to one count of attempted grooming of a child, two counts of attempted sexual communication with a child, two counts of attempting to cause a child under 13 to look at a sexual image and one count of attempting to cause or incite a child into sexual activity.

While on remand, Oakshott was also charged with a further offence of causing or inciting a child into sexual activity.

That related to sexually explicit messages he sent to a 15-year-old girl in October 2016. Oakshott also pleaded guilty to this offence.

Judge Beverley Lunt sentenced Oakshott to 28 months in prison and ordered him to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years.

Det Con Alex Summers said: “Oakshott was indiscriminate in his attempt to pursue a child for sexual purposes and the sentencing reflects the danger that he presents to teenage girls. We will continue to pursue and bring to justice, with the public’s help, those who seek to abuse youngsters for their own sexual gratification.

“Lancashire Constabulary takes all allegations of a sexual nature extremely seriously and understands how difficult it can be for victims to have the confidence to come forward. As a constabulary, we are committed to investigating sexual offences sensitively and recognising the impact that these types of crimes have on victims.

“We would encourage anyone who has experienced sexual abuse, or who has information about it, to have the confidence to report it to us knowing that we will take it seriously, deal with it sensitively and investigate it thoroughly.”

An NSPCC spokesperson said: “Oakshott didn’t think twice before engaging in sexual conversation with young girls who were clearly underage.

“Although only one of his victims was a real child, the impact of his actions on her will be profound.

“At the NSPCC, Our Wild West Web campaign is calling on Government to introduce a tough independent regulator to hold social networks to account if they don't do enough to protect children."