A security guard who sent thousands of tweets glorifying the Islamic State was today jailed for five years.

Mohammed Moshin Ameen, of Stevens Road, Dagenham, admitted using 42 different profiles on the social media site to send 8,000 messages, of which 250 were found to be extreme, between March and October last year.

The 23-year-old’s posts included portraying terrorists as “role models”, and referring to the September 11 hijackers as the “magnificent 19”.

He also posted a link to an English language IS propaganga video which was of the first specifically aimed at recruiting young British men as well as a picture of masked Jihadi John - aka Mohammed Emwazi - holding out a knife.

Cropped selfies showing Ameen posing with a large knife were also posted to his profile.

Prosecutor Christopher Amis said Ameen’s behaviour amounted to “a sustained effort indirectly to encourage others to engage in terrorism”.

Ameen first came to the attention of the authorities in December 2013 when it was believed he might try to go to IS-held territory.

When police raided an address in London, they found him with a one-way ticket from Luton to Istanbul for the same day as well as a letter to provide “cover”.

In the autumn the following year, counter-terrorism officers discovered Ameed had half packed a bag for “immediate departure” – to the shock of his dad.

Ameen told police he was planning to travel to the Syrian border with an aid convoy of ambulances that evening and was going to fly back - even though he did not have a ticket booked.

Police then seized phones from him in June and October last year.

In mitigation, Tim Moloney QC said his client was of “below average intelligence” and vulnerable to radicalisation by more sophisticated individuals. He added that Ameen was “genuinely sorry” for his actions.

Ameen pleaded guilty to five counts of encouraging the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism on Twitter at a previous hearing in March.

He also admitted a further charge of inviting support for Islamic State, as a proscribed organisation, between October 4 and 6 2015 and pleaded guilty to disseminating a terrorist publication relating to a link to a video entitled For The Sake Of Allah posted on Twitter in September last year.

Sentencing Ameen at the Old Bailey, Judge Richard Marks QC said: “You had a not insignificant following on your accounts, and at the time this case is concerned, you were thoroughly radicalised.”