A man embarked on a sexual relationship with a teenager nine years younger than him, despite having been warned by police to cease contact, a court has heard.

Reece Darton, 26, of Rosetta Road, Spixworth, had started seeing a 14-year-old girl who was known to social services in the summer of 2018.

Norwich Crown Court heard the mother of the victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, discovered the relationship when she put her daughter's phone onto charge and saw a message which said "hello beautiful".

Marc Brown, prosecuting, said it had come from a mobile number not in the victim's contact list.

When asked about it by her mother the girl said it was told it was someone called Reece who was 18.

After some research on social media the victim's mother found out he was older than 18.

Mr Brown said social services were contacted resulting in police being informed.

Darton was visited by officers who discouraged him from any contact with her, but "that warning was not heeded".

Instead, Darton contacted the victim and "told her to wipe her messages off her phone and Facebook".

Mr Brown said that showed Darton had been "seeking to cover his tracks".

In October 2018 the victim said she had been in a sexual relationship with Darton who she had met through a friend.

He appeared at court on Friday (June 10) to be sentenced having admitted three counts of sexual activity with a child between June and September 2018.

Jailing him for three years, Judge Katharine Moore said there had been a "significant disparity in age" between the victim and Darton who "knew underage sex was wrong" and had also been warned by the police about her age.

Matthew McNiff, mitigating, said Darton, who had no previous convictions and who had social and educational limitations, was not a danger, with not a single offence since these matters, which date back four years.

Darton was put on the sex offenders register indefinitely and was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for 10 years.