A 23-year-old man groomed and sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl he met in Heaton Park, a court was told.

Zain Shah, of Rothsay Road, Blackley, carried out a sexual assault on the Asian child several times last September after first befriending her in the park last August.

Despite knowing she was aged 12, he texted and rang her daily, saying he loved her and wanted to marry and have sex with her.

Shah also pretended to be an undercover police officer who was shot while on duty to win his victim's trust.

After pleading guilty at an earlier hearing, he was given a three-year community punishment order at Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday. This requires Shah to attend a sexual offending treatment programme.

He is also banned from contacting or trying to contact any female under the age of 16 for three years and is on the Sexual Offender register for five years.

Speaking after the court hearing, Detective Sergeant Alex Wild said: “This was a classic grooming case, with Shah using emotionally charged language to suggest to this young girl that they were in a real, normal and healthy relationship.

“Of course, that is absolutely absurd.

“The reality is a 23-year-old man manipulated a child in order to get what he wanted, even pretending to be an undercover police officer who had been shot in the line of duty in order to win her confidence and sympathy.”

The court heard how Shah met the girl in the car park of the Sainsbury’s supermarket in Heaton Park Road several times early last September, kissing the victim and sexually assaulting her as she tried to push him away.

When the victim’s mother discovered what Shah had done, she immediately reported him to the police.