A Kingswinford man who groomed a schoolgirl in the hope of starting a sexual relationship has avoided spending time behind bars.

The ‘selfish desires’ of Andrew Turner blighted the childhood of the victim and left her with nightmares in which the 31-year-old was going to rape her, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

The grooming started with his request to be one of her friends on Facebook, developed through contact on Snapchat and ended with daily text messages, said Mr Bernard Linnemann, prosecuting.

Turner – whose wife is standing by him – admitted telling the girl in messages that she was sexy and pretty, that he loved her and was waiting until she was 16, it was said.