A business owner who shared vile fantasies with an undercover police officer about abusing vulnerable children has been handed a suspended sentence.

Alan Marc Durrant, from Ramsey, said during the chats that he would ‘love a little girl’ and ‘loved retarded girls’.

The 39-year-old, who also works in a pub, admitted 10 counts of sending indecent, obscene, or menacing messages via a telecommunications network.

Magistrates sentenced him to six months’ custody, suspended for two years, and put him under supervision for two years.

Prosecuting advocate Hazel Carroon told the court that a warrant was executed at Durrant’s Ash Grove address on December 2.

His phone was examined, and found to contain numerous conversations on the Telegram and Discord applications over a five-month period, discussing sexual activity with children.

In one, Durrant asked the other conversation participant, who had told him they had a six-year-old daughter and son aged two: ‘You ever play with your daughter or son?’

The other participant answered: ‘I’ve been hands on since birth,’ to which Durrant replied: ‘Hot. She must be trained well.’

The other participant then asked Durrant: ‘You have experience?’, to which he said: ‘Unfortunately not.’

Other conversations read out in court included Durrant saying: ‘What age when she first sucked you?’, ‘Love retarded girls’, ‘She doesn’t struggle for Daddy though?’, and ‘She been with others before?’

The other participant asked him what he was looking for, and Durrant said: ‘Love a little girl, but taboo chat is good.’

In another conversation Durrant asked: ‘She’s a good girl, what colour hair does she have?’

He then said: ‘I shouldn’t have messaged, maybe bit too taboo for me. I’m really interested, it’s just the risk involved.’

Website searches were also found relating to girls aged between two and 10.

In court, Durrant was represented by duty advocate Ian Kermode, who said that the offences were communication offences and not under the Sexual Offences Act.

Mr Kermode said that it was clear matters needed to be explored more as to why they had taken place, and that there had been a lack of transparency by the defendant.

‘According to Mr Durrant these were fantasies. Unfortunately for him, he was communicating with an undercover police officer.

‘He believed he was engaging in fantasy conversations.’

The advocate said that it could not be known what would have happened had the conversations not been stopped.

‘At the time he was depressed and drinking far too much,’ said Mr Kermode.

‘We have heard the conversations about children, that is a serious issue which I think merits professional counselling.’

The advocate went on to say that probation and supervision were vital for Durrant, who was said to have a car servicing business.

Mr Kermode said that Durrant was now in a new relationship and his partner was apparently fully aware of what had gone on.

Magistrates chair Gill Skinner said: ‘This isn’t a fantasy, you acknowledged the risk. You deliberately deleted the messages.’