A HAMPSHIRE man has been jailed for having sex with an underage girl.

A court heard how Jamie Cross sneaked into the bed where the girl was sleeping and began having sex with her.

The girl, who was said to be asleep at the time, told police she woke up to find Cross on top of her and told him to stop.

But Cross claimed the sex was consensual.

Now Cross, 24, has been jailed for three years at Southampton Crown Court, after pleading guilty to a charge of sexual activity with an underage girl.

Cross always maintained the sex, which took place when the girl was below the age of consent, was not forced.

In mitigation, Andrew Houston said his client grew up in a “chaotic” family.

Mr Houston told the court that since the incident, Cross had fathered two children with a woman while living in Gosport – but had since split with the mother.

He said Cross had also held down a job at a slaughterhouse and had at on point been living in a shack in Soberton, near Droxford.

Judge Peter Henry handed Cross, of no fixed address, a three-year prison sentence.