A FORMER Venture Scout leader and a foster father for social services used the Internet and mobile telephones to contact two teenage girls he later abducted, it was alleged at Cheltenham Magistrates Court yesterday.

Police have launched a nationwide search for at least 15 girls, two from Darlington, after a vast number of pornographic pictures were found on Mark Weightman's home computer.

Weightman, 37, of Westwood Crescent, Eccles, Greater Manchester, faces three charges of abducting the two 15-year-olds from Cheltenham, and raping one of them.

He is alleged to have abducted one girl between October 13 and 16, and again on November 23. He is also accused of raping her in a Manchester hotel between November 21 and 25.

He is also accused of abducting the second girl between October 21 and 23, as well as taking indecent photographs of one of the girls on October 13 and 14, in hotels in Cheltenham and Gloucester. Weightman is further charged with taking indecent photographs of other girls between January 20 and September 30.

Police arrested Weightman on Monday, at his mother's home in Greater Manchester.

"Police seized a computer, floppy discs, CDs and numerous indecent pictures of young girls, two of which are the subjects of the present charges," said Dennis Scully, prosecuting.

"As a result, police have launched a nationwide hunt for at least 15 girls, including two 14-year-olds who live in Darlington."

David Billingham, defending, applied for bail and told the court: "Weightman strongly denies all these charges."

Weightman was remanded in custody until December 14.