A man from Hatfield has been jailed after he assisted in keeping a 16-year-old girl away from the person responsible for her.

Peter Murphy, of Millwards, was sentenced at Hatfield Remand Court on Monday having admitted the charge following his arrest last weekend.

He has been put behind bars for 42 weeks.

The 38-year-old was issued a Child Abduction Warning Notice on March 4, warning him not to have any contact with the teenager, after concerns were raised about his behaviour.

Get more stories like this delivered to your inbox every week by signing up to the Welwyn Hatfield Times In Brief newsletter.

Despite this, Murphy continued to meet with the girl and assisted in keeping her away from responsible persons.

"We will take action against anyone who targets vulnerable young people," said Detective Constable Jemma Warburton, from the constabulary’s safeguarding team.

"One way to do this is by issuing a Child Abduction Warning Notice, which is a notice to the person to have no contact with the child.

"Failure to comply with the notice has implications and can provide evidence to support the prosecution of other criminal offences.

READ MORE: Welwyn student shares victim's rights with UK police forces

"Murphy was arrested at the weekend when seen with the girl. He had taken a deliberate course of action to meet with her and he is responsible for his actions.

"The magistrates noted that Murphy’s behaviour breached his current suspended sentence order, having made no attempt to engage or rehabilitate himself regarding a previous sentence, and has now been knowingly assisting a child to stay away from a responsible person.

"This prison sentence highlights our commitment to use whatever powers possible to protect young people in our community."