A TEENAGE pervert who tried to lure young boys into a wooded area of Clarence Park with money has been jailed.

Rhys Seymour, aged 19, approached young boys in the Bury park on two occasions in May, but did not persuade them to accept his advances.

At Bolton Crown Court on Tuesday, Seymour was told he must serve three years and eight months in a young offenders institution for the offences, as well as the possession of about 2,000 indecent images of children.

Seymour, who pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to two offences of child abduction, one count of attempted child abduction and 24 counts of possession of indecent imagery, will also be subject of a sexual offences prevention order for 10 years.

On the afternoon of May 3 this year, Seymour approached an eight-year-old boy who was playing football, and asked him to come into a wooded area of the park.

Seymour, of Wolsten-holme Avenue, Walmersley, told the boy: “If you do this job, I will give you £20.”

The boy asked what the job was, but Seymour replied: “I am not telling you. You can find out when you get there.”

Seymour then touched the boy’s arm, after which the boy ran off.

The boy had managed to alert the parents of one of his friends, who called the police.

Days later, on May 8, Seymour approached two boys, both aged seven who were playing in a den, when Seymour approached and said he would pay them £10 each if they played a game of eye spy behind a skate park.

He then also asked if the boys would play a game of “dirty dares”, and Seymour asked one boy to “show his butt”, but he did not do so.

The boy ran to his parents, who were also in the park. But the other boy followed Seymour who had asked him to come to a den he had created in a wooded area.

The court heard that the boy “wanted the money”, but when he heard the other boy’s parents shouting for him, he left Seymour.

Seymour was arrested on May 13, after being spotted by police, who had been conducting checks.

Defending, Mr Stuart Duke said: “He appears to be a very troubled young man in need of quite a bit of help.

"He would be every parent’s worst nightmare, and he still presents a risk to young boys. It is clear he has a strong, and perhaps uncontrolled sexual interest in young boys.”

The court heard that in subsequent interviews with police, Seymour claimed that he approached the boys because he had met a man with whom he had been in care in the park.

Seymour claimed that the man had abused him when he was a child, and that he told him he would hurt him if he did not find a young boy for him.

However, Neil Nehra, prosecuting, rejected this claim.

Seymour admitted that he had started downloading images of children in January last year, and told police that they would find indecent images on his mobile phone, which was seized.

Judge Timothy Clayson said: “You are, at the moment, a predatory child sex offender. You are clearly very troubled.

"I am in no doubt whatsoever that sexual offending was the reason why you were trying to abduct them.”