A 22-YEAR-OLD man from Xàtiva (Valencia) reportedly funded his trip to the Euro Cup match between Spain and Croatia by blackmailing teenagers on a social network site with pornographic images he had taken on a webcam.

The accused, D.D.C., who has no previous record of child abuse, used a fake profile picture showing a handsome youth, and a made-up name.

After hooking up numerous young people - all aged between 12 and 20, of whom all bar two are under 18 - as friends, his online conversations with them became gradually more steamy.

Once he had gained their trust, he convinced them to perform sexually-explicit acts via webcam, before eventually threatening to distribute the videos over the internet and to tell their parents what they had been doing, unless they paid him sums of between 60 and 100 euros via a secure money transfer website.

He reportedly netted around 2,000 euros, which was enough to fund his flight and accommodation and tickets for at least one Spain match in Poland.

Four of the victims - who are said to be both male and female - aged between 12 and 17 decided between them to report the matter.

They and their parents went to the Guardia Civil in Almería, and officers called at the suspect's home - only to discover he was at the Euro Cup.

He was arrested when he tried to board the plane home.

A raid on his home and computer uncovered the identities and pornographic videos of 21 young people, although police believe there may be more.

Other than the four who reported the incident, the others had not told anyone and their parents had no idea of what their children had been through.

Photo: A man from Chipiona (Cádiz), accused of online 'grooming' of  81 minors, on trial in Madrid in March 2012. Court sources say he faced up to 359 years in jail