Groomer jailed after victim's relative followed car

Philip Thurston, aged 34, contacted a 13-year-old girl on Instagram before giving her lifts

A man who groomed a 13-year-old girl and drove her in his car was caught after a concerned relative followed them.

Philip Thurston, 34, of Laburnum Close, Cambridge, contacted the child via social media and sent her sexualised messages.

Despite knowing her age, Thurston arranged to pick up the girl near her home.

In January, Thurston pleaded guilty to taking a child so as to remove him/her from a person having lawful control and was jailed for two years and three months on Monday.

Thurston first contacted the child on Instagram in June 2023 and asked for her Snapchat details.

The first time they met, the girl declined to get into his car, but Cambridgeshire Police said he returned a few days later.

He drove her to Cambourne and then onto a McDonald's in Caxton, where he paid for food.

They spent two weeks chatting online, during which Thurston sent sexualised images.

He told the victim if she were older, he would "get with her" and described what he wanted to do to her.

'Danger to children'

At about 19:50 BST on 28 June, the victim told her parents she was going out for a drive with a 17-year-old boy named Fabio.

Her stepdad became suspicious and followed her to a nearby bus stop, where Thurston was waiting in his car.

He managed to take a photo of the vehicle and drove behind it through Cambridge, before losing sight.

While driving, Thurston admitted to the victim that he was 32, not in his late teens.

He became angry when he noticed they were being followed by the victim's stepdad and asked if she was "setting him up".

He added: "Your stepdad is lucky he didn't catch me," before taking her home.

The girl's stepdad alerted police, who tracked down Thurston from his number plate and arrested him.

He admitted to meeting the victim, saying he thought she was 14.

He insisted he was "not a bad person" and said he did not realise that picking up a child was illegal. He claimed he just wanted to "help people" as she wanted to be taken out.

Thurston was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court, where he was also handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Det Con Daniel Knight, who investigated, said: "Thurston is clearly a danger to children, and I'm pleased he is now behind bars.

"Protecting children from abuse is a force priority, and we will do everything we can to protect them from harm."