A PERVERT who tried to arrange a meeting with a 14-year-old girl for sex was last night starting a prison sentence of more than four years.

Philip Smart, 25, was told by a judge at Teesside Crown Court that his sentence would have been even longer if his sordid plan had worked.

The devious deviant told his probation officer that he was the one who was being targeted and pestered by the girls to send them rude photos.

Smart offered to pay for a taxi to get the vulnerable teenager from a children's home to a park in Stockton close to his flat on Yarm Road.

The court heard how he sent a "random" message to the stranger on Facebook in January, asking the schoolgirl: "Hi hun, how you doing?"

Within a short time, he suggested they become "friends with benefits" which would involve kissing and cuddling, said prosecutor David Lamb.

He then asked if she had "done it" with an older man, if she was a virgin, if she enjoyed sex and how far she would go, added Mr Lamb.

Smart sent a messages saying "I nearly asked you for a dirty pic, but I won't, lol" - two hours before he requested she email a photograph.

Mr Lamb said he made plans to meet the girl at Ropner Park, and even though she appeared "nervous and timid" continued to press her.

Smart asked for the youngster's mobile phone number and sent a picture of himself naked from the waist down, and asked her to send one back.

A second girl of the same age was also targeted on the What's App messenger service, and she, too, was asked for "a dirty picture".

Smart was jailed for 50 months after he admitted inciting child pornography, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.

Judge Simon Bourne-Arton, QC, told the pervert that he was worried with what a probation officer write about him in a pre-sentence report.

The report said: "Philip Smart presented a dismissive attitude towards his behaviour, minimising his personal responsibility, claiming he had been targeted by the victims and pestered to the point where he had exchanged indecent images.

"It is clear Philip Smart has a propensity to act in a reckless and risk-taking manner for self-gratification, and appears to have little understanding of the consequences of his behaviour."

Shaun Dryden, mitigating, said Smart had been "open and upfront" about his age, and accepted he had wanted to meet the first girl for sex.

"There are parts of the report where he appears to be in denial about his offending, but other parts show he is aware he has a problem and that problem has to be rectified so he can continue in the future to lead a law-abiding life."