YOUNG girls found themselves in grave danger after mistakenly dismissing a 30-year-old internet 'friend' as harmless.

Nicholas Hughes never attempted to hide his age from the girls he contacted via MSN Messenger.

Peter Moss, prosecuting at Warrington Crown Court, said he was amazed the girls had dealings with Hughes, whose user name was Dirty Cheshire Boy.

He said: 'It's somewhat alarming that a lot of the girls with whom the defendant engineered contact regarded him as harmless - and how wrong they were.

'First he would talk about hobbies and interests and would then turn to matters of a sexual nature.'

The mother of one of Hughes' victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: 'We didn't have a clue our daughter was using MSN to chat to this man even though she was using the home computer and it was downstairs where we could see it.

'I would advise all parents to be vigilant and to check what your children are doing on the internet. It's also worth checking the browser history.'

Investigating officer DC Carla Hunter said: 'The sites are limited to people over the age of 16, but are often not policed which means children younger than this can access them and place their details online.'