A man who pestered two 12-year-old girls to send him naked pictures of themselves over the internet has been handed a suspended jail sentence.

Daniel Stafford, who claimed he needed the images for an art course, contacted the youngsters when he made then friends on Facebook in autumn last year.

But over the following months the 20-year-old badgered the children, who knew each other, to send him indecent pictures of themselves.

Tessa Hingston, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court on Monday how he initially corresponded normally with the girls before making the lewd requests.

She said he told one of the girls how to use another piece of social media called Kik and she eventually sent him a photo she took of herself in her bedroom with no clothes on.

He kept on telling her to send photographs, including one of her carrying out a sex act on herself, and in total the girl sent him about 20 pictures of herself in states of undress, either naked or in underwear.

Miss Hingston told the court that he pestered the other girl in the same way.

Daniel Stafford, of Summerleaze, Trowbridge, pleaded guilty to three counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Charles Row, defending, said a psychiatric report showed his client was emotionally immature, socially isolated and suffered from low self-esteem, and did not realise at first quite how young his victims were.

Judge Tim Mousley QC imposed an eight-month jail term suspended for two years during which he must undergo one-on-one supervision with probation and register as a sex offender for seven years.