A SINGLE mother who groomed and agreed to have sex with an underage boy but shrugged it off as "banter" is behind bars.

Clare Dinsdale, 40, exchanged explicit photographs with the teenager, and told him in a Facebook message: "You'll get me in trouble x."

Dinsdale, from Willington, County Durham, was jailed for two years for inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and abduction.

Teesside Crown Court heard yesterday how she had repeatedly ignored warnings to stay away from the lad and not to contact him.

Judge Simon Phillips, QC, told her that her offending was "persistent and premeditated" and said: "It has some concerning features."

The court heard how the youngster would not co-operate with the prosecution, and it could not be proved if sex had taken place.

Defence barrister, Dan Cordey, said: "She is adamant nothing actually happened. She recognises the inappropriateness of her behaviour."

Joanne Kidd, prosecuting, told the court that the pair had numerous online conversations which had "a distinctly sexual tone".

Dinsdale would often let the teenager visit her home - despite pleas from his family and after she was issued with a police warning.

Miss Kidd said messages showed him "repeatedly asking for sex" and Dinsdale "indicating that would be the order of the day".

A report by a probation officer said the mother-of-two was "naive" and may have been flattered by the teenager's attention.

Mr Cordey said: "She recognises now that as somebody in her late-30s as she was she should at the very outset have put a stop to it.

"She accepts it had gone as far as exchanging those images. Looking back, she finds it difficult to believe what happened."

Dinsdale, of Hutton Terrace, Willington, admitted the charges, and will be on the sex offenders' register for the next ten years.

Mr Cordey said since her remand in custody, she has struggled in prison where other inmates are either aggressive or shun her.

"She is now labelled as a sex offender and that's something which will stay with her if not for life for a very long time," he added.

"This is a woman who has lost a lot because of this case - her home, her reputation - and will essentially have to start again."

Judge Phillips told Dinsdale, who wept throughout the hearing. "The age disparity is a very significant feature of the case.

"This was persistent contact, it was repetitive, and most concerningly, you chose to flout notices that had been issued to you."