A MAN who used social media to attempt to meet teenagers for sex was sentenced to eight years in jail at Isleworth Crown Court.

Mohamed Mohamoud, 31, of Uxbridge was found guilty of two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and one of attempting to incite a child to commit sexual activity.

The charges relate to three separate females - aged 14 or 15 at the time of the offences - with whom Mohamoud communicated in 2015 and 2016.

The jury heard how he identified young females through Facebook, and then contacted the victims, seeking to obtain their phone numbers.

He subsequently made attempts to meet the girls for sexual activity, offering drugs and alcohol and the promise of taking them shopping.

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Police were first alerted by a teacher at a Hayes secondary school who had been told by a 14-year-old girl about messages she'd exchanged online.

Thankfully, none of the three girls met with Mohamoud.

During the subsequent trial, he showed no remorse and attempted to blame others for his actions.

An NSPCC spokesperson said: “Like so many sexual predators, Mohamoud used social media as a gateway to groom his young victims.

“Thankfully, through the courage of these girls speaking up, Mohamoud’s twisted plan was foiled before he could cause devastating harm to children.

“But the NSPCC believes more can be done to prevent grooming before police action is necessary.

"Our #WildWestWeb campaign is calling on the Culture Secretary to force social media companies to use technology to flag up grooming behaviour to moderators and warn children before they are abused.”