A FIRE brigade union chief has been warned he is facing jail after bombarding a schoolgirl with explicit text messages.

Paul Ahmed, 44, was cleared of four serious sex charges relating to a 14-year-old girl who said she had an affair with him in 2003.

But jurors at Newcastle Crown Court found the South Tyneside fire brigade union branch secretary guilty of a single charge of indecency with a child.

The charge relates to him sending messages which were designed to encourage her to behave in an indecent way.

The girl, who admitted she was infatuated by Ahmed, recorded the messages in a pink book which was handed to police after she told her family about their alleged relationship.

The teenager said she sexually experimented with Ahmed during secret meetings and she had full sex with him when he took her to his home.

But jurors yesterday rejected the girl's claims that there had been any physical contact between them.

As a result of his conviction Ahmed, who has been a firefighter with an unblemished record for more than 20 years, must now sign the sex offenders' register.

His barrister, Jamie Hill, told the court after the verdict: "It is almost inevitable he will lose his job."

Judge Michael Taylor granted Ahmed bail until the sentencing hearing, which will take place after the preparation of reports.

But the judge warned: "Custody is still uppermost in my mind in this case."

And he said Ahmed he must "put his affairs in order" before his next appearance.

Ahmed, of Carnegie Close, South Shields, was cleared of two charges of indecent assault, indecency with a child, and an attempted unnatural act.

The single charge of indecency with a child, on which he was found guilty, relates only to him inciting her to behave indecently.

The charges all date between April and June 2003.