A man who had sex with a 14-year-old girl with her mother's consent was today banned from having any contact with her.

The order came after a court heard Daniel Balfour was continuing to have a relationship with the teenager.

Sheriff Kevin Drummond said the situation concerned him and he imposed a fresh bail order banning the 23-year-old from contacting or communicating with the girl.

Balfour, of Berwick-upon-Tweed, previously admitted having underage sex with the teenager between April 1 and October 6 last year.

The girl's mother later defended her decision to allow her daughter to sleep with him.

The woman, who cannot be named to prevent the schoolgirl being identified, argued she was trying to protect her daughter.

Balfour was due to be sentenced at Duns Sheriff Court in Berwickshire today, but the case was deferred after reports ordered by the court were not available.

Balfour's defence lawyer, Ross Dow, told the court that the set-up was "peculiar" and said his client had been affected by the media attention surrounding the case.

"It's been quite upsetting for him," he said.

He also told the court Balfour continues to have a relationship with the girl which is endorsed by the mother.

But he added: "There is not a sexual element to that relationship, he assures me."

Sheriff Drummond later said he had "some concern" about the matters raised, namely "that the relationship continues under the supervision of an adult".

He said he was not satisfied that the bail condition imposed at the last court appearance, stating that the two should not be alone together, was operating as it was intended.

Reviewing the bail order, he told Balfour: "The condition will now be that you must not contact or communicate in any way, directly or indirectly, with the young female complainer until such time as this matter is to be reviewed by the court."

The court was told Balfour had forgotten to attend an appointment to help with the preparation of the background reports.

Mr Dow claimed this was due to the impact of the media attention on him, and to the fact that his client had been experiencing housing problems which left him homeless for a short period of time.

Sheriff Drummond urged Balfour to keep a fresh appointment which has been made for him, and to observe the terms of the bail order.

The mother previously claimed that despite her best efforts she could not stop the relationship, so she let it continue.

In a letter to the Berwick Advertiser newspaper, she defended her actions, saying: "Do you know what your 14-year-old daughter is doing? Well I do."

She continued: "Although I tried many times to stop the relationship, she carried on behind my back.

"As many mothers know, you can't lock a 14-year-old in their room until they are 16."

She added: "In an ideal world, we all try to protect our children and this is what I was trying to do. As much as I didn't like the situation, I felt that by keeping them close, I could monitor the situation rather than them running away behind my back.

"If I felt my daughter was in any danger from this lad, I would have killed him myself."

But Tory justice spokesman Bill Aitken blasted the mother's actions as "totally inappropriate", saying she should have put a stop to the relationship.

The case was deferred to February 11 at Duns Sheriff Court.