A lowlife paedophile has been jailed for bombarding someone he thought was a 12-year-old girl in an undercover sting.

Mark Armstrong, 49, sent messages to the undercover worker after trawling social media.

He was on bail for similar offences at the time when he was messaging the person posing as "Lucy".

Armstrong, of Shotts, Lanarkshire, then sent explicit messages to the person completely unaware he was being targeted.

His arrest was then streamed live on Facebook by vigilantes.

Armstrong admitted repeatedly sending messages of a sexual nature and attempting to communicate with a child in December last year.

He was then jailed for 12 months and was ordered to be kept on licence for a further two years when he is released.

He was also placed on the sex offenders register for ten years.

Sheriff Small told him: "You pled guilty to an indictment involving sexual offending and the particular nature of the charge was communicating with what you thought to be a child who had not yet attained the age of 13.

"It was not actually a child but you weren't to know that the person you were speaking with was not genuine but part of an elaborate sting which led to you being arrested.

"Although you appear before me as a first offender, you were on bail no less than three times relating to analogous charges for which you later received a lengthy sentence.

"There would be a number of disposals open to me and I would have been sympathetic to them if it was the only offence, but you were on bail orders for similar offences and that has led me to a different view.

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"I have to have regard not only to your personal circumstances but to the public interest and the potential victim of the crime.

"I have come to the view that a custodial sentence is the only appropriate disposal in your case and I am concerned that the public are protected from harm so will pass an extended sentence."