A gang of six men have been jailed for a total of 31 years after being convicted of a string of sexual offences against teenager girls.

The offences, which ranged from inciting sexual activity with a child, to rape, happened in cars, woods or at the defendants' homes in Banbury, Oxfordshire.

Oxford Crown Court heard how they lured victims to parties organised on social media and then began sexually abusing them.

The men were found guilty in March and have now been handed sentences of between three and nine years in jail.

Jailed: Ahmed Hassan-Sule, 21 (left) was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment. Mohamed Saleh, 22, (right) was imprisoned for four years and nine months

The girls, aged between 13 and 16, were targeted by the gang at under-18s parties organised by Ahmed Hassan-Sule, 21, known as 'Fiddy'.

One child described the parties as 'a place where girls would go and the boys would choose their targets'.

The victims, who were described in court as 'emotionally immature' were abused from 2009 to 2014.

Sentencing Hassan-Sule and the others in a court packed with friends and relatives of the defendants and victims yesterday, Judge Zoe Smith said: 'You put on charity events to raise money for your football club.

'This raised your profile among young people in Banbury and you saw yourself as a celebrity.

'Your friends helped put on these events and you became a sexually promiscuous group, not with your own girlfriends, but with girls who were young, vulnerable and lacking in maturity.'

The judge rejected the argument put forward by the defence, who accused the girls of coming forward because 'it's better to be a victim than a slag'.

Behind bars: Kagiso Manase, 26, (left) was jailed for four years and Said Saleh, 20, (right) was sentenced to four years' detention in a Young Offenders Institute

One of the victims told the Oxford Mail: 'When I used to go missing I would swear at my mum and I didn't realise I was being really nasty to her. The men put me against my family – it was really clever. When I started hanging around with them I felt important.

'I had no friends and they were the only people left to talk to. It was a big part of my life and I was scared. I felt like all my friends were making new memories and I wasn't part of them.

'Calling people "slags" as the defence did in this case stops other girls from coming forward. I would say to other girls to think about the future. I never wanted to do it. I never wanted to have sex with them but I thought that's what friends did.'

Thames Valley Police launched Operation Reportage after receiving a tip-off about the men's activities and eventually tracked down numerous teenager girls who had been molested.

Detective Inspector Steve Raffield from Banbury Force CID said: 'This result would not have been possible without the bravery of the victims.

'I would like to thank them for coming forward and giving evidence in this case. As in all trials without their testimony we would not be where we are today.

'As a result young people will be safeguarded while these men will have time to reflect upon their actions in prison.'

Convicted: Takudzwa Hova, 21, (left) was sentenced to six years' imprisonment, while Zsolt Szalontai, 18, (right) was sentenced to three years' detention in a Young Offenders' Institute after being found guilty of rape

Justice: The judge rejected the argument put forward by the defence at Oxford Crown Court (pictured), who accused the girls of coming forward because 'it's better to be a victim than a slag'

Those jailed on Friday afternoon at Oxford Crown Court were: Ahmed Hassan-Sule, 21, of Banbury, who was found guilty of 13 counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of assault by penetration. He was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment.

Mohamed Saleh, 22, of Banbury, was found guilty of two counts of sexual activity with a child. He was sentenced to four years and nine months' imprisonment.

Said Saleh, 20, from Banbury, was found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child. He was sentenced to four years' detention in a Young Offenders Institute.

Takudzwa Hova, 21, of Banbury, was found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child, two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and one count of rape. He was sentenced to six years' imprisonment.

Kagiso Manase, 26, of Banbury, was found guilty of two counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and one count of sexual assault. He was sentenced to four years' imprisonment.

Manase had also pleaded guilty to possession of identity documents with intent. The offence related to being found in possession or control of a false South African passport and UK residence permit. He was sentenced to one year imprisonment to run consecutively.