A man accused of planning a killing spree at Workington's Uppies and Downies said he could watch documentaries about the Columbine High shootings "on repeat easily 10 times in a row", a court has heard.

Shane Fletcher, 21, allegedly wanted to achieve notoriety by emulating Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold who murdered 12 students and one teacher at their school in Colorado, United States, in 1999 before killing themselves.

Fletcher, from Workington, is said to have told his probation officer about targeting the town's traditional Uppies and Downies festival where thousands gather every Easter to play and spectate at a series of matches played in the street.

Today, Lee Cartner told jurors at Manchester Crown Court that Fletcher referred to Columbine and the 1987 Hungerford massacre during a meeting on March 6 last year.

He said: "Mr Fletcher told me that he could watch documentaries relating to these shootings on repeat easily 10 times in a row."

Fletcher - a self-identifying white supremacist - had attended weekly sessions with the Probation Service since April 2017 following his release on licence from a jail term.

Mr Cartner told the court his concerns developed over time and particularly since Christmas when Fletcher linked the Uppies and Downies to a massacre on "a couple of occasions".

He said: "I quite bluntly asked Mr Fletcher 'What is this, is it fantasy or is it reality?'

"I did that in the hope that Mr Fletcher would say it was fantasy. However he went on to tell me that the only thing stopping him carrying out a massacre were a lack of finances and access to weaponry."

He said Fletcher added that he was not at the point yet where he wanted to follow through his thoughts but said he knew "Scousers" online who could get him guns.

Mr Cartner said Fletcher remarked weeks earlier that he hated Workington and "humanity in general" and also referenced Derrick Bird, who carried out a killing spree in west Cumbria in 2010.

Mr Cartner said: "He said he had given thought as to how easy it would be for a van to plough down people at the Uppies and Downies.

"He told me about a quote he had seen which he really liked - 'Why take one life when you can take 10,000?'"

Mr Cartner said Fletcher told him at the same session about feeling suicidal and how he visited a local police station but ultimately left when he could not get his words out.

Fletcher was not willing to see his GP or health professionals and saw himself as sad rather than depressed, the probation officer said.

Simon Csoka QC, defending, showed Mr Cartner an entry made in a diary recovered from Fletcher's home which read: "I hate myself so much, I'm a freak. I have nothing, not even a friend ... I don't think people know how close I am to ending it.

"I am no use. Still getting bullied. Scared of sleeping at night just in case something happens to my house ... I feel I am being judged."

Mr Csoka said to Mr Cartner: "You can see the inner anguish?"

Mr Cartner replied: "Yes, it is clear from reading them. They are awful."

The probation officer agreed with Mr Csoka that it was made clear to the defendant from the outset that their meetings were not confidential and anything he said could be potentially shared with the police.

Fletcher was arrested at his family home in Wastwater Avenue on March 10, just days after Mr Cartner passed on his concerns to the authorities.

Among items seized was his mobile phone, which contained an image of the Columbine killers lying dead on the ground and a diary in which the Crown say he outlined his intention to commit a massacre and also contained instructions on how to make a pipe bomb and napalm.

Fletcher is also accused of sending the pipe bomb instructions online to his only friend, Kyle Dixon, and trying to persuade him to join him at the Uppies and Downies attack in April 2018.

Fletcher denies one count of soliciting murder and two counts of collecting or making a record of information likely to be use for terrorism purposes.