A MAN who tried to sell the sexual services of a teenage girl from Radcliffe has been jailed.

Adam Banks, from Atherton Road, Wigan, was given two years and eight months after pleading guilty to two counts of arranging the sexual exploitation of a child, three counts of distributing indecent images of a child and one count of making an indecent image of a child.

He was said to have begun contacting the teenager on social media in April sending increasingly explicit messages before trying to encourage her to sell sexual services, which he said he could arrange.

He constantly messaged her, manipulating her by using money as an incentive as she wanted to move out.

He then convinced her to send him inappropriate images while he was texting men offering to sell her services.

On one occasion he even met up with her in his car before telling her he had arranged for her to see four men later in the week.

However, someone close to the victim raised suspicions to police, and officers were able to step in before these meetings would have occurred.

Mr Banks was then arrested in Leeds and a search was conducted of his home in Hindley Green, Wigan, where his phone was seized.

In addition to his prison sentence, he received a ten-year sexual harm prevention order after deliberations at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court on Monday.

The arrest came as part of Project Phoenix, a collaboration of public and third sector partners throughout Greater Manchester that aims to protect young people and prosecute offenders.

Detective sergeant Jennie Morrison, from Bury’s Child Sexual Exploitation Team under Project Phoenix, said: “Banks manipulated this vulnerable girl preying on her need for money. He sent sickening explicit texts to other men detailing the services she could offer, all the while knowing how young and fragile she was.

“He took pleasure in arranging to sexually exploit this girl and gained disgusting sexual gratification from images he convinced her to send.

“I want to praise the victim for her strength throughout this investigation and specialist officers have supported her through this ordeal.”

Anyone who is worried about their own or someone else's wellbeing is urged to visit www.itsnotokay.co.uk or call 999 if it is an emergency.