A social media user who allegedly ‘groomed’ a 12 year-old girl online gave her a sex toy as a gift - when she turned up to meet him still wearing her school uniform.

Mark Hughes, 44, began talking to the Harrow schoolgirl in 2012 via a social media site called Habbo Hotel, a chat site where people create their own avatars to make friends, play games and talk with others, and while he purported to be younger, her profile suggested she was at least four years older than she really was, Harrow Crown Court heard.

Jurors were told Hughes had repeatedly asked the youngster, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to send naked pictures of herself - which she claims she did - and in return he would send pictures of himself.

Continuous exchanging of text messages between the two eventually ended up with a brief meeting in North Harrow, where Hughes allegedly gave the girl a vibrator while she was in her school uniform.

The sex toy was later found by the victim’s mother and she called police.

Georgina Gibbs, prosecuting, told the jury of three women and nine men on Monday: “Mr Hughes met the 12 year-old girl on Habbo Hotel, he then groomed her and sent her naked photographs of his private parts.

“He then brought her a vibrator and prompted her to use it. He told her that he was 29 years old and she listed her age to be 16 or 17 years old. To begin with they spoke about random topics. He told her that he was a manager and that he was single.

“In the conversation she did refer to being at school. They would text every day and after three or four weeks they met up.”

The court heard the young girl was feeling ‘down’ at the time and that she did not ask for any of Hughes’ naked photographs. She later described to the police in an interview that she felt ‘disgusted and really weird’ when she received the explicit pictures.

Ms Gibbs said: “The defendant wanted to meet up with her in October 2012, and they did. She was wearing school uniform and this was when Mr Hughes gave her the vibrator. After the meet, he continued to send her sexual messages.”

Videos of the girl’s police interview were played to the jury in which the victim said: “He asked me for my number, at first I thought should I give it to him, then I did.

“I asked him first for his age and then I told him I was 12. We would text nearly everyday. We talked about random things, he told me that he lived in Kensington and that he worked from home. He asked me to send a naked photograph, saying ‘Will you flash me?’"

The girl described how ‘weird’ she felt when she eventually sent the photograph of herself naked to the defendant.

She said: “He kept on talking about how horny he was and stuff. It would make me feel quite disgusted. A lot of the text messages were sexual, I would try and change the subject, like talk about the weather. It was weird talking about sexual stuff.”

Hughes, of Barlby Gardens, Ladbroke Grove, denies causing or insighting a child into prostitution or pornography, causing a child to engage in sexual activity and meeting a child following sexual grooming.

The trial continues.