Lorry driver arrested outside Aldi store after he told '12-year-old girl' he had a bed in his truck and arranged to meet her for sex

Police officers swooped to arrest Graham Dowsett after he sent Snapchat messages stating he had a bed in the back of his vehicle.

A court heard how Dowsett believed he had been grooming on a girl on social media over a six-month period leading up to his arrest.

He had in fact been exchanging messages with an undercover police officer pretending to be a child.

Former soldier Dowsett was jailed for 25 months at Leeds Crown Court after pleading guilty to attempting to meet a child after sexual grooming.

Carmel Pearson, prosecuting, said Dowsett initially made contact with the decoy officer on Kik Messenger.

Further messages were exchanged on Snapchat where Dowsett had the userman 'G-man'.

Ms Pearson said the messaging started in October 2020 and they were initially innocuous.

Dowsett's massages became more sexual in nature over the following months.

The defendant was sent messages stating that he was contacting a 12-year-old girl but his offending continued

He asked the girl to send intimate pictures of herself and his messages became even more explicit.

Dowsett also sent images of himself and he discussed having sex with her.

The prosecutor said: "On April 22 he sent a series of messages describing where he was and what he was doing and what he wanted from her.

"He said he was in his lorry near to an Aldi shop and said he had a bed in his van.

"He told her exactly where he was parked and as a consequence police went to where he said he was going to be."

Dowsett initially denied any wrongdoing when he was interviewed.

He claimed he knew he it was an adult pretending to be a child and said he sent the messages because he wanted to "create a trap."

Dowsett, of Windmill Lane, Yeadon, later pleaded to the offence. He has no previous convictions.

Sean Smith, mitigating, said Dowsett was initially in denial over his involvement but has since faced up to what he had done.

Mr Smith said his client had been receiving treatment to prevent him reoffending.

The barrister urged Judge Andrew Stubbs QC to consider imposing a suspended sentence so Dowsett could continue to receive treatment.

Judge Stubbs said the offending was too serious to impose anything other than an immediate prison sentence.

He said: "You wanted to meet up with her, as you made plain, so you could engage in sexual activity.

"By April 22, everything was in place for you to carry out those desires which you had expressed.

"But it wasn't a 12-year-old girl. It was a police officer and so you were arrested."