Police recovered eight indecent images from Lindsell's computer

Douglas Lindsell, from Twickenham, south-west London, who appeared at Kingston Crown Court on Thursday, contacted young girls through internet chatrooms by pretending to be a teenage boy.

The 64-year-old pleaded guilty in August to gross indecency towards a girl under the age of 16, making indecent images of children and two counts of sexual and threatening harassment of a girl.

Lindsell was found with a hand-written sexual profile of 54 youngsters from the UK and 19 from abroad.

He built up a database, including details of hair and eye colour, clothes, schools, families and intimate details such as bra size and sexual likes and dislikes.

He was trying to make friends with me, asked me how I was and acted all nice Grooming victim My escape from paedophile

He even bought a book about teenage texting so he could sound more convincing.

Police said they were not aware of any other case where so many potential victims had been identified.

Girls, some as young as 13, would be bombarded by phone calls after he had befriended them on the internet.

He arranged to meet two of the girls, aged 13 and 14, but when they discovered how old he was they ran away.

Police say they came "within inches" of being assaulted.

Obsessive pursuit

The former postman admitted contacting victims and asking them to delete text messages and e-mails after he was arrested.

Eight indecent images of children were recovered from his computer.

Police have described Lindsell as the most active paedophile "groomer" in the UK.

Detective Chief Inspector Chris Watts described him as very dangerous and very organised: "Lindsell had a system of hunting, grooming and attracting young girls with a clear intention and that was to commit acts of indecent assault.

"He was obsessive in his pursuit of under-age girls and continued to pursue them even after we confiscated his computer.

Your obsession with young girls is a sexual obsession linked to an obsession about rape Judge Richard McGregor-Johnson Tough new sex laws proposed

"If Lindsell had not been caught when he was, it is extremely likely he would have proceeded to successfully abduct and assault children."

Judge Richard McGregor-Johnson, who described Lindsell as "a continuing danger to children", also placed him on the sex offenders register for ten years.

He told Lindsell: "Your obsession with young girls is a sexual obsession linked to an obsession about rape. I do not accept your actions were actions of dirty talking.

"What it was that changed your behaviour in 2002 I do not know and whilst it is true the internet makes it considerably easier for somebody like yourself to commit these type of crimes, you could not properly lay the blame for it on the internet.

"Your actions stem from your own decisions and your own desires."

Lindsell was given three years for attempted abduction and three months for possession of indecent photos of children to run concurrently.

He received six months for attempting to pervert the course of justice and 18 months for incitement to gross indecency with a girl under 16. Both sentences will run consecutively.