A PUBLIC school sixth former exchanged a series of “obscene” messages with a 14-year-old girl over a period of more than four months, a court heard.

Their exchanges also involved them sending intimate pictures of each other as the girl responded to Matthew James Procter’s requests for her perform various sex acts on herself.

Durham Crown Court heard that on discovering the girl also had a younger sister, he even suggested that she involved her in the activity.

The court was told it was only the discovery of her phone, by her father, after she fell asleep on her return from school in April last year, that the contents eventually came to her shocked parents’ attention, despite her being initially unwilling to reveal her identity number.

Sarah Mallett, prosecuting, said when police spoke to her she revealed she made contact with Procter on social media the previous December.

She said she felt under pressure from him to send naked pictures of herself and didn’t know what would happen if she failed to respond to his requests, but, in time, became “more compliant.”

The court heard that on May 1 last year Procter was arrested at Durham School.

In interview he said he did not force her to send images, but conceded they were of a sexual nature and that he was aware she was only 14, acknowledging, “it was wrong”.

It emerged he had also been in contact with other girls, sending indecent images to them, but Miss Mallett said police were unable to trace either.

Procter, now 18, of Waplington, York, admitted three counts each of distributing indecent images of children and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, plus two of making indecent images of children.

Tony Davis, mitigating, said there was an element of “bravado” about Procter’s “sexting” with the girl, but he is now fully aware of the seriousness of what he did and is, “extremely remorseful”.

Mr Davis said following his arrest, Procter was asked not to return to Durham School and had to complete his A-level studies at York College.

He added that the defendant has just begun a marketing and management course at Newcastle University.

Judge Simon Hickey said Procter was being sentenced as a 16 and 17-year-old, which was when he committed the offences.

He said he would have passed a one-year custodial sentence, suspended for a year, but he felt a "better alternative" was to impose a three-year community order, to include 20-days rehabilitation activity requirement.

Procter was also made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, restricting future internet use, while he will also be subject to registration as a sex offender.