FRESH warnings were issued last night over the dangers of the internet as a pervert who targeted hundreds of girls in the North-East was starting a six-year prison sentence.

Mark Arthur offered teenagers money, mobile phone top-ups, cigarettes and alcohol in exchange for indecent pictures.

After grooming the youngsters on the social networking website Facebook, the 31-year-old loner encouraged them to send him the photographs, and arranged to meet them for sex.

Teesside Crown Court heard how Arthur, from Stockton, lied about his age and threatened one girl that he would put indecent images of her on the internet if she did not do as he asked.

One victim said: “I feel stupid because of what I’ve heard on the news and the stories I’ve read in the papers.”

Mike Hall, whose granddaughter Ashleigh, 17, from Darlington, was murdered by paedophile Peter Chapman who posed as a teenager online, said lessons were still not being learnt. He said: “It shocks me every day when I pick up The Northern Echo and there are at least two or three stories about sex offenders in the area. These young girls using Facebook and the internet don’t seem to be getting the message do they?”

Judge Tony Briggs described the crimes as insidious and unpleasant and said: “This type of offending strikes at the heart of family security, and this type of offending is very serious.”

The court heard how police discovered Arthur had eight different Facebook accounts on which he gave false names and ages. One of them had the title Naughty Means Cash.

His crimes came to light only when a friend of one of his victims learnt that he was communicating with her as well as many others, told her parents, and they contacted police.

Arthur, of Ashton Road, Norton, admitted ten charges of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, six of meeting a child following sexual grooming, three of sexual activity with a child and possessing indecent photographs.

His barrister, Christopher Knox, said the former warehouseman found it hard to form relationships.

Mr Knox said: “The sort of work he has had doesn’t really involve very much contact with people and that speaks of a man who is adept in the chat context of being able to initiate contact in the ether, but much less so in the real world.

“He is able to chatter to girls online, but when it comes to meeting them faceto- face, he is, frankly, gauche, not really able to establish a proper relationship.”

Meanwhile, Ashleigh Hall’s grandfather said he was shocked young girls were still being taken in by sex offenders using Facebook, which floated on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday with a market value of $104bn (£65.8bn).

Mr Hall said: “Surely one death in the area should be a warning to everybody else.

“They should be very careful, but it’s getting out of hand – I don’t know what to do.”

Mr Hall gave his backing to Bishop Auckland MP Helen Goodman, who last week wrote an article for The Northern Echo explaining why she believes a crackdown on access to pornography on the internet by creating an opt-in system is necessary.

He said: “I would wholeheartedly support her stance that there should be greater control over what young people can access on the internet.

“If it stops one paedophile using the internet, then it would be worth it, and I would like to congratulate her for raising the issue.

“It is disappointing to hear it is still going on. These girls don’t realise how lucky they are because, if it was someone like Chapman that got hold of them, they wouldn’t be here to tell the tale.”

PC Chris Turner, of Cleveland Police, said after the case: “This has been another detailed investigation into grooming offences through the use of social media websites which has resulted in the conviction of Mark Arthur.

“He contacted numerous young females and groomed them for the purpose of sex and in order to obtain sexual images of these girls.

“He has offered these girls cash, gifts and alcohol, tempting them with whatever he can offer so that he could get what he wanted from them.”

Judge Briggs banned Arthur from working with children indefinitely, imposed strict restrictions on his computer use and put him on the sex offenders’ register for life.