A "DANGEROUS" rapist escaped with a warning from police after taking another girl to a hotel and getting her drunk, it has been revealed.

Ajmal Mohammed, 40, of Audley Range, Blackburn, is beginning an indefinite prison sentence for attacking a 14-year-old girl in a Blackpool hotel last February.

But it has now been revealed that he was given an official written warning by police in Greater Manchester after an incident in February 2004.

As he was being sentenced for rape, Preston Crown Court heard that Mohammed had taken a schoolgirl to Manchester with him to celebrate her 14th birthday.

After plying her with alcohol in a hotel room she ran away from him and he was forced to call police in a bid to track her down.

Katherine Blackwell, prosecuting, said: "He took the girl to a hotel in Manchester and paid for a room for them both.

"At some stage she disappeared. He notified the police, who discovered the alcohol. He admitted that he had taken the girl, who was in foster care, and said that he had taken her to celebrate her 14th birthday.

"He denied any sexual activity but said that both of them had become drunk."

She said he was ordered to sign a "child abduction warning letter" but was not prosecuted.

Police said that there was no evidence to prosecute him for any offence because he had taken the girl to Manchester with the knowledge of her foster parents.

At Preston Crown Court Judge Edward Slinger said Former Ribblesdale League cricket Mohammed was a "very significant and real danger to young girls".

He said that police had discovered the phone numbers of six other "vulnerable" youngsters who were in care on his mobile phone following his arrest for rape.

And after Mohammed's conviction, Judge Slinger praised the Lancashire Telegraph's Keep Them Safe campaign, which aims to tackle sexual grooming.

Children's charity NSPCC said that it was worrying that Mohammed had been handed just a warning before going on to commit a rape.

But they said the strong sentence he was given at court for rape was welcomed.

A spokesman said: "The NSPCC is particularly concerned about children being groomed in this way and the conviction and sentence highlights the serious nature of this crime."

PC Mark Whelan from Lancashire Police's Operation Engage, which aims to protect young people who are being sexually exploited or at risk of being sexually exploited, said Mohammed's sentence was a "great result".

He said: "The conviction and prison sentence for Mohammed is a great success and shows how seriously we take the issue in this county."