SELF-APPOINTED paedophile hunters should stop taking the law into their own hands and engaging in entrapment operations, according to Wiltshire's police commissioner.

Angus Macpherson has spoken out after an incident in Andover last month in which 25-year-old Tidworth soldier Sam Dallow was stung by a paedophile hunter who pretended to be a 14-year-old girl.

A meeting was arranged and Dallow was confronted in a railway station car park by campaigner Shane Brannigan.

The encounter was filmed by Brannigan and broadcast online.

Dallow was sentenced to two years in prison at Winchester Crown Court on June 8 after previously admitting attempting to meet a teenage girl with the intention of committing sexual assault against a child.

Dallow, of 6th Battalion The Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, was based in Tidworth Barracks but is previously from Birmingham.

Mr Macpherson has condemned the paedophile hunters' behaviour citing, among other things, the possibility that evidence gathered in such a way may not be admissible in court.

He said: “We are all concerned about people who groom and exploit children to satisfy their sexual needs. It is a vile and unacceptable crime.

“But entrapment by self-appointed paedophile hunters who pose as children is risky and the evidence they gather may not even be admissible in court. There’s no control, no boundaries and no governance.”

The commissioner said he had giving much thought to what he described as a “tricky moral issue” since hearing about the Sam Dallow case.

Explaining the problems that may arise from such vigilante entrapment operations, he said: “I recognise that these hunters are bringing offenders to police attention, but I worry on several counts about this vigilante justice.

“What if the suspect senses a trap and speeds off in their car? What if the evidence handed to police is not sufficient for a case to be put before a court? What if the hunters unwittingly put an active police investigation at risk? What about the risk of violence when the hunters confront a suspect?

“I read of a case in Kent in April when violence broke out at a shopping centre during a sting set up by paedophile hunters. It ended with two people being charged with public order offences.

“Any police officer will tell you that evidence-gathering is a very specialised job. It takes a great deal of training, skill and knowledge to gather evidence that can bring an offender to justice.”

Addressing any concerns that residents in Wiltshire and Swindon may have, Mr Macpherson said: “We have specially trained officers and staff in Wiltshire Police and across the South West. Significant investment has been made to enable them to investigate paedophile suspects who operate online.

Soldier who tried to meet underage girl for sex caught by vigilante paedo hunter

“In the meantime, if anyone has suspicions that someone they know is grooming children for sex, they need to bring those concerns to Wiltshire Police – but not to take the law into their own hands.

“We must let our police do the hunting and bring these offenders before the courts.”