A HORRIFIED mother contacted police after discovering sexually explicit Facebook messages between her teenage daughter and a number of older men, a court heard.

The discovery eventually led to the arrests of Christian Selkirk and Daniel Cochrane who are on trial accused of sex offences against the girl.

Selkirk, 23, of St Cuthbert’s Avenue, Chester-l e-Street, denies having sex with a child between April and June 2011.

Cochrane, 36, of Corsair, Whickham, Gateshead, denies inciting a child to engage in a sexual activity by encouraging her to send explicit messages.

The mother used her daughter’s account to reply to another man who had received a message from the girl describing herself as a “sex addict” by warning him: “My daughter is 15. Don’t contact her again. I will contact the police if you do.”

Durham Crown Court was told the girl, now 16, was in Year 10 at school when she sent the text to the man, who was aged 29 at the time.

The text was one of a number of sexually explicit texts sent between the girl and a number of men. The practice was only halted when her mother found out about the messages. The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, gave evidence via video link yesterday.

When asked under cross-examination by Tom Moran, representing Cochrane: “Were you keen on having some sort of sexual relationship with older men, including Dan Cochrane?” she replied “Yes.”

And when he asked her: “Did you know they could be in trouble if they knew your age?” she replied “Yeah.”

Giving evidence, she said she had not wished to get either man into trouble, but her mother discovered explicit Facebook and text messages and contacted the police.

She also agreed with Anne Richardson, representing Selkirk, that when she referred to “just meeting a lad” it meant having sex, whilst “seeing” someone meant having a relationship.

When Ms Richardson asked her: “Is it fair to say you were saying in your Facebook and text messages there was very little that you wouldn’t do sexually?” the girl replied “Yeah.”

She said she first got in touch with both Cochrane and Selkirk, who play for the same rugby team, via Facebook.

She told the court she met Cochrane only once after the pair had exchanged sexually explicit texts and swapped explicit photos, and they went for a drive in Cochrane’s car to an industrial estate in County Durham.

The girl admitted kissing Cochrane, but said he refused to go any further, telling her she was “too young.”

The girl said she had earlier had a sexual relationship with Selkirk for a couple of months, during which time she feared she had become pregnant, although the fears later proved unfounded. The hearing continues.