A YOUNG girl received threats of being glassed, burnt and gang raped from a man she met over the internet, a court heard.

It is claimed the 15-year-old girl received threatening text messages from Paul Cox, 45, who is accused of seven charges of grooming and sexual activity with a 15-year-old East Devon schoolgirl.

He has denied the charges, which included encouraging a girl to make and send indecent photographs of herself.

Cox met the girl to which the charges relate after first making contact with a schoolmate of hers on an adult chat website.

The schoolmate claims Cox later scared her with a series of text messages after she refused to send him a topless picture of herself.

Giving evidence via videolink, the girl confirmed that she had received texts from a mobile phone number belonging to Cox in which she was threatened with being "bottled", burnt with cigarettes and gang raped.

One text message read out in court said: "You either send pic or I'll deal with you."

The prosecution says there is no suggestion that the girl did not consent to the sexual activity.

In a police interview read out in court, Cox said the girl had lied about her age. He said the girl told him she was at college and would be turning 17 later the same year.

Cox said he was shocked when told that the girl was 15. He told police that she had sent him some pictures of herself naked but that he had not asked her to.

Police arrested Cox at a caravan he was living in, at a small holdings site at Bradford, near Holsworthy, West Devon, in March this year.

The trial continues.