A MIDDLE-AGED man posed as a teenage boy to entice a 14-year-old girl to send scores of indecent photographs over the internet.

Ian Smithson Hebner also set up a website – Young Bi Girls – and posed as a 14-year-old female to attract further indecent pictures from another young girl.

Durham Crown Court heard that an examination of Hebner’s computer equipment revealed 17,840 indecent child images, including 746 in the two most serious categories.

David Crook, prosecuting, said the 42-year-old continued communicating with the 14- year-old after his arrest in April for possessing child pornography.

Hebner, from Durham City, posed as Ian Smith, a 14 or 15- year-old boy from Birmingham, when he initially contacted the girl, in North Yorkshire.

He posted a picture of a teenage relative taken from a wedding photograph, saying it was him.

During their correspondence, the girl sent him 70 indecent photographs of herself in poses suggested by Hebner, who, in return, sent intimate pictures of himself.

Hebner paid £100 to top up the girl’s mobile phone, but police traced him because he used his credit card.

When questioned, he admitted having also set up the website to contact teenage bisexual females.

He uploaded 21 indecent images of girls onto the site and, posing as 14-year-old “Lucy”, contacted a girl called Kirsty, who police were unable to trace.

Among the photographs were an indecent image of a three-year-old child taken by Hebner.

Hebner, of Rochester Road, Newton Hall, admitted five charges of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, seven counts relating to making, taking, distributing or possessing indecent child photographs and two of voyeurism.

Ian West, mitigating, said Hebner, of previous good character, used coercion and subterfuge, but no force, to make contact with young girls.

Judge Christopher Price said some of Hebner’s activities would “outrage all right-minded people”.

Jailing him for four years, he also imposed a sexual offences prevention order, until further order, on Hebner, who was also banned from ever working with children and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register indefinitely.