A PUB chef seduced an underage girl with text messages to her mobile phone, a court heard.

Andrew Newcombe, 27, was eventually tackled in the street by the girl's mother, who told him to keep away because of the age difference.

But then the girl told her that they had sexual intercourse three times, said Christine Colley, prosecuting, and that she regretted what happened.

She told police: "I was not happy with it but I did not say No."

Newcombe was arrested and he said that he thought she was 19, Teesside Crown Court heard on Monday.

Dan Cordey, defending, said that a pre-sentence report painted a picture of Newcombe as a normal young man with a perfectly healthy interest in women.

Newcombe accepted that he had sex with her on three occasions but he was terrified that it might lead him to prison.

Mr Cordey added: "Putting him in association with true sex offenders is probably the last thing that society will want. It is not something that is needed. He has already got the stigma against his name which is something that will live with him for a long time."

Judge Michael Taylor told Newcombe: "These sort of offences have always got to be marked with some sort of sentence and it shows the need for vigilance when an older man engages in relationships with young girls."

Newcombe, of Danes Crescent, Brompton, Northallerton, was given a six-month jail sentence, suspended for 12 months, after he pleaded guilty to three charges of unlawful sexual intercourse in June and July. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for five years.