Two men from Hackney have been found guilty of a string of sexual offences against vulnerable teenage girls after grooming them online.

Colin Trotman, 45, and Glenn Dyett, 56, targeted their victims on social networking sites before travelling to Southend to abuse them.

They sexually assaulted the girls, who police described as "naïve and troubled", after plying them with alcohol and drugs during several visits to the seaside town in Essex between August and November 2012.

Basildon Crown Court heard the pair met the girls on the seafront and assaulted them in Trotman’s BMW if they refused to have sex with them.

They were arrested in February and June last year after three teenage girls alleged they had raped them.

Following a two-week trial which concluded on Friday, Trotman, of Wetherell Road, Hackney was convicted of rape and one count of sexual activity with a child. He was also found guilty of two counts of facilitating permission of child sex offences.

Dyett of Elderfield Road, Clapton was found guilty of three counts of sexual activity with a child.

DCI Simon Werrett, who led the investigation for Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: "The two men are despicable characters who not only sexually exploited and assaulted these young girls, but refused to admit their guilt and forced their victims to go through the harrowing experience of giving evidence and reliving their nightmares."

He continued: "These girls were vulnerable, alcohol-dependant, socially-active teenagers who were experiencing difficulties at home. They were naïve and troubled. At a time when society should have been letting them develop into young adults, two criminals appeared on the scene and targeted them; ruining their futures.

"We pay tribute to these young girls who had the courage to come forward and then give evidence at court, enabling these two men to be brought to justice. In doing so, the girls have protected others from being exploited by Trotman and Dyett."