A dedicated community volunteer who was snared in a police sting operation after engaging in online sex chat with an undercover officer has been jailed.

Kamran Mahmood, of Higher Antley Street, Accrington, was part of an online gang and was caught out after he started searching for ‘Burnley slags’.

The 29-year-old repeatedly spoke with the officer on social media over a two week period believing he was messaging a 13-year-old girl called ‘Emily’, a judge was told.

Burnley Crown Court heard how Mahmood used his real name and profile picture and told the officer: “Looking for meets and sex. What you think of talking to older guys?”

When the officer told Mahmood that she was 13, he said ‘Oh dear, I’m 29’ and later wrote ‘I do want us to talk but I just feel I will get horny and walk to talk about sex with you’.

Lisa Worsley, prosecuting, told the court that Mahmood sent pictures of his naked genitals and asked her to perform sex acts. In one conversation, Mahmood said: “Don’t tell anybody. Our secret, baby. Good girl XX.”

In another he said: “I’d love to be your teacher during school LOL. Only if we got to know each other ha ha. So what do you miss about me? What would you do if I was with you now?”

Miss Worsley told the court that Mahmood was arrested on July 6 this year after officers raided his former home on Buxton Street in Accrington where he lived with his family.

Mahmood pleaded guilty to attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and attempted sexual communication with a child. He was jailed for 12 months and ordered to sign the sex offenders register.

The court heard how Mahmood had ‘undertaken a number of responsible roles’ in the community providing food to families’. He was also an ‘integral member’ of the Bahja Initiative’s ‘Feed the Needy’ project and had ‘dedicated substantial amounts of time towards many of the activities and events in the community on a regular basis’.

Darren Lee-Smith, defending, said it was an ‘unsophisticated’ offence and Mahmood has shown ‘very sincere remorse’. He warned that the convictions will have a ‘devastating effect’ on his future and told the court how Mahmood had wanted to become a sports coach ‘but given the nature of these convictions that has been destroyed’.

Kamran Mahmood initially claimed that the online sex chat wasn’t for his own ‘sexual gratification’ but was instead an attempt to ‘set up a relative in a bizarre revenge bid, the court heard.

However Judge Philip Parry said the explanation to the probation service was ‘completely implausible’ and told Mahmood that ‘right from the very outset it was obvious you had sex or some sort of sexual encounter on your mind’.

Sentencing, he said: “These offences came to light because you and others, you describe as part of an Asian gang, were discussing things over the internet and the undercover officer engaged you in conversation.

“You have a poor attitude towards females. You said this Asian group you were engaged with was to discuss ‘Burnley slags’.

“In the pre-sentence report you repeatedly denied these conversations were sexual. You said that these conversations were to show ultimately as some sort of revenge.”

Judge Parry added: “The offending is so serious that only an immediate term of imprisonment must follow.

“The message must go out that offenders such as yourself who seek to engage with young girls in graphic and highly sexualised conversations, with no doubt lying behind them ultimately a meeting, those offenders will be sent to prison.”