A MAN who "violated and embarrassed" a former girlfriend by sending intimate pictures to her friends on social media in an act of 'revenge porn' has been spared jail.

Raheas Ahsan, 18, posted the images online in November following the breakdown of the eight-month relationship with the woman, who he suspected had cheated on him.

The pictures ended up being printed out and plastered on lampposts on the street in Bradford where she lived and had to be taken down by her brother.

Copies were also posted through the door of a family friend addressed to the woman's parents.

Ahsan had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of disclosing private sexual photographs with intent to cause distress before the hearing at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates' Court yesterday.

Prosecutor Linda Fowler told the court that Ahsan had pleaded with the woman to talk to him two months after the relationship ended, threatening her that if she did not respond to his messages, he would put images of her on the internet.

A mutual friend of the former couple then saw a number of intimate pictures on social media sites, including Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.

Ahsan was said to have sent the pictures to three people, his former partner's sister-in-law and two of her friends.

The images were subsequently shared and forwarded on to others, causing the victim to feel "violated and embarrassed" that people had seen them.

Ahsan, who was said to be studying the final year of an NVQ in Mechanics at college, was arrested and admitted the offence when interviewed by police.

Upkar Bahia, for Ahsan, said his client had sent the pictures on a private forum but had acknowledged the situation had "snowballed out of control."

"He was heartbroken and didn't know how to deal with the situation," he said.

"He struggled to cope with the rejection and lashed out by sending the photographs.

"It has brought great shame on his family."

Sentencing Ahsan, of Dewsbury Gate Road, Dewsbury, chairman of the bench Philip Turner said: "This is a very serious offence and we could have sent you to prison today, but we are not going to take that option.

"We are concerned that what you did sparked a whole chain of problems for the complainant, and this is clearly not acceptable behaviour.

"Perhaps you will think very carefully before you do something like this again."

Ahsan was sentenced to an 18-month community order with a 50-day rehabilitation requirement and 50 hours of unpaid work.

He was also ordered to pay £60 compensation, £85 costs, and a £180 Criminal Courts Charge.

A three-year restraining order was granted barring him from making any contact with the victim, who the court heard was moved to a police refuge for her own safety following the incident.

It is only the second conviction for 'revenge pornography' in Bradford.

Speaking after the case, Mark Burns-Williamson, Police and Crime Commissioner for West Yorkshire, said: "It is very important that any victims of revenge porn contact the relevant authorities as soon as possible so that offenders can be brought to justice and action taken to remove the material.

"One of the many commitments I made within my Police and Crime Plan around cyber-crime was to call for a national review of the laws around prosecution of those who target others via social media, and I also support any measures that will give the police more time to collect enough evidence to enable successful prosecutions to be brought."