A 20-year-old man who abducted a child has walked free after spending two-and-a-half months in custody.

A judge told Callum Lucas he would have imposed six months youth custody but as time on remand would count towards it, it would not be “any public use” to send him back for a few weeks.

The appropriate sentence, therefore, was six months suspended for two years, he added.

Maidstone Crown Court heard Lucas, of Bicknor Road, Maidstone, was issued with a child abduction warning notice banning contact with a girl under the age of 16.

But she was found under his bed at his home. He was bailed with strict instructions not to contact her.

Prosecutor Siobhan Molloy said police later went to his home to make checks and found the child standing in a cupboard. He was then remanded in custody.

Matthew Bolt, defending, said Lucas, who admitted child abduction, was terrified of returning to custody.

Judge Martin Huseyin said: “I am aware of some of the things that have been happening to him.”

He told Lucas: “I know from what I have read about you that you have been a rather immature young man. You have probably done a lot of growing up in the last two-and-a-half months.

“You have been through some significant experiences in custody, but it is serious that, really, she is still a child and was taken out of the control of her parents, even if it is something you don’t agree with.

“You are getting to grips with a drug problem. You are only 20. The last thing you need is to be doing this type of behaviour.”

The judge said there would be drug rehabilitation requirement for six months. Lucas was banned from contacting the girl and barred from working with children or young adults.