A sting operation by police caught a man living in Felixstowe attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child after they used a decoy 13-year-old girl.

Thomas Jones, previously of Valley Walk, Felixstowe, now faces jail after Suffolk magistrates sent his case to be heard at Ipswich Crown Court.

The 30-year-old, who now lives in Weybourne, Norfolk, had already pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause a child to look at an image of sexual activity.

Magistrates heard how Jones talked about sexual acts and sent pictures of his erect penis to a girl he believed to be 13, between March 12, 2020, and April 9, 2020.

Specialist police officers were actually behind the girl's online profile and Jones was arrested at his Felixstowe home.

The court heard there was no actual victim in the case given a decoy was used, and Jones had no previous convictions. Magistrates were also told that Jones had struggled with his mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown and was put on furlough.

Speaking in mitigation a legal representative argued his offending was "completely out of character" and he was "fully ready to face the consequences of his actions".

Suffolk magistrates committed the case to the crown court on a date to be fixed as they did not believe their sentencing powers (a maximum of six months in prison) were great enough.

Jones was previously made subject to an interim sexual harm prevention order and interim notification requirements ahead of his sentence.