A children’s charity said the conviction of a paedophile who pretended to be a teenage boy to blackmail dozens of young girls into being his online “sex slaves” should be a “wake up” call to the Prime Minister.

Jordan Croft, from Worthing, abused 26 girls after posing as a 16-year-old boy online.

The 26-year-old pleaded guilty at Lewes Crown Court to 65 counts relating to serious child sexual abuse.

Croft, of Westdean Road, was described as an “extremely dangerous serial paedophile”.

He used images his victims sent to him to blackmail them into performing ever more depraved acts on camera for his own pleasure, a judge said.

Some of the girls he made film themselves were only 12.

He was sentenced to 18 years in prison with an eight-year extension.

He will serve at least two thirds of his sentence in prison before being eligible for parole.

He will also be placed on the sex offenders' register for life and will be subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order preventing him from contacting his victims.

Richard Collard, regulatory and policy manager at the NSPCC, said: “Jordan Croft used social media and private messaging as easy tools to find and subject girls to sustained and degrading abuse.

“The testimonies of the brave victims which were heard in court starkly highlight the devastating impact online sexual abuse has on children.

“The sad reality is that much of Croft’s offending could have been prevented if social media sites and messaging apps had a legal obligation to identify and disrupt child abuse which is taking place at record levels.

“This case should serve as a wake-up call for the Prime Minister to keep the government’s promise to children and families up and down the UK by getting the Online Safety Bill through Parliament without any further delay.”