A man posed as a teenager on a chat website to try to get two young girls from America to send him explicit photos, a court heard.

Paul Blackman, 44, pretended he was a 16 year-old boy and sent messages to two teenage girls, who said they were living in Washington DC, asking them to send him indecent photos of themselves, Norwich Crown Court was told.

John Farmer, prosecuting, said that one of the people he contacted, who claimed to be a 15 year-old girl, sent him a photo showing just her upper body, wearing a bra.

Police arrested Blackman and seized a number of devices, including two mobile phones.

Mr Farmer said that analysis showed he had contacted one girl in October 2014 and the other girl in August 10, last year.

Blackman, of St John's Terrace, Great Yarmouth, admitted attempting to engage a person under 16, in sexual activity.

Jailing him for 16 months and placing him on the sex offenders' register for 10 years, Recorder Guy Ayers said Blackman had described himself as a 16 year-old to one of the girls he requested explicit photos from.

He said that he had no doubt that if the girl knew it was in fact a 44 year-old man she was talking to, it would have been different outcome.

'It would have been a very different type of conversation you would have been having, You were motivated for your own sexual gratification.'

Matthew McNiff, for Blackman, said that he had a number of problems and difficulties.

'He is someone with a number of real challenges.'

He said that Blackman showed a 'lack of maturity'.