A 69-year-old man who groomed a 15-year-old girl to meet up for sex was caught out when his phone messages were intercepted by a parent of the victim, a court heard.

Bryan Oakley sent sexual messages to the girl and was travelling to meet her at a holiday park until the parent saw the messages and contacted police about the matter, Norwich Crown Court heard.

John Farmer, prosecuting, said after seeing the messages the parent pretended to be the victim and sent a message warning him that she thought her father had seen the message about them meeting up.

Mr Farmer said after the warning, Oakley deleted his messages but police still managed to recover messages from his phone, which included a request to the victim to meet up for cuddles.

Mr Farmer said that in an impact statement the girl said she felt embarrassed and guilty that she had responded to his messages and said she found it hard to talk about what happened.

She said her self-confidence had been affected by what happened.

Oakley of South Croft, Hethersett, admitted sexual activity with a child and meeting a child following sexual grooming.

He was jailed for 15 months suspended for two years and placed on the sex offenders' register for 10 years.

Judge Stephen Holt told him that the case had a bad effect on the victim as she felt guilty because she responded to his messages but told Oakley: 'She is not the guilty one, you are the guilty one.'

However he accepted Oakley was remorseful and was at low risk of re-offending.

He also said that Oakley was in poor health and was the sole carer for his long-term partner: 'It is most unlikely you will ever be before the courts again.'

He also made him subject to a sexual harm prevention order.

Edward Renvoize, for Oakley, said that he had no previous convictions and his chances of ever re-offending were very low.

He said Oakley was the main carer for his wife and also suffered from a number of health problems himself including diabetes.

'He recognises how stupid his actions were. He recognises that not only did he act in a criminal fashion but also acted in a way that did not pay sufficient regard to this young girl's feelings. This truly is a one-off.'