A FURIOUS mother has told of her fears for other children after a pervert who sent her daughter a string of obscene text messages walked free from court.

Barry Underwood, who has a previous conviction for assault on a 13-year-old girl, was jailed by magistrates for 16 weeks earlier this week, but they suspended the sentence for two years.

The mother of the 15-year-old Pocklington girl, who was sent a series of sexually explicit messages on her mobile phone by Underwood, said today: “I feel sick to my stomach.

“I do not feel justice has been done. He should have been jailed and they should have thrown away the key.

“I feel this man is a walking disaster for someone else’s child.”

Underwood, 59, of Eastern Way, Letchworth, Hertfordshire, was sentenced by North Herts Magistrates Court in Stevenage after pleading guilty to sending a communication of an offensive nature. He was ordered to pay £87 court costs.

The mother said she had been told by Herts Police that it was now seeking a Sexual Offences Prevention Order, which would prevent him making contact with children. She said she welcomed this but was still disgusted by the court’s sentence.

A Hertfordshire Police spokeswoman confirmed it was in the process of seeking an order but could not comment on the proposed terms.

The mother said Underwood’s sickening messages had made her 15-year-old daughter afraid to go out, in case Underwood was somehow watching her.

She said she still did not know how Underwood had managed to obtain her daughter’s mobile phone number and name.

The Press reported earlier this year how the mother claimed police told her Underwood could not be arrested, only to perform a U-turn later after she had complained to her MP, East Yorkshire Tory Greg Knight, and he had written to the Humberside’s Chief Constable to query what had happened.

However, Hertfordshire Police said the woman had only been warned it might not be possible to arrest him under the specific guidelines laid down by The Sexual Offences Act 2003, and officers had subsequently decided to make an arrest after a review of information, unaware of any complaint or involvement of the local MP.