WILTSHIRE Police have confirmed they may consider working with ‘paedophile hunters’ if it means children's welfare will be better protected.

It follows a senior police constable’s claim earlier this week that forces around the country will “potentially” have to work with vigilantes to catch those intent on committing vile sex crimes.

Chief constable Simon Bailey, the national lead for child protection at the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said: “I’m not going to condone these groups and I would encourage them all to stop, but I recognise that I am not winning that conversation.

“I think [working with vigilantes] is something we’re going to have to potentially have to look at, yes, but it comes with some real complexity.”

Wiltshire Police confirmed they agreed with Mr Bailey when he said: “We may consider working with these groups in certain instances, if it helps us protect children and we can manage the risks of their involvement.”

The comments were welcomed by local paedophile hunter Danny Catcher, who was responsible for putting 28-year-old Mark Smith in the dock at Swindon Crown Court earlier this year.

Smith thought he was meeting a 14-year-old girl for sex outside Primark in June, but was instead confronted by self-styled “non-vigilante paedophile hunter” Danny.

Danny said: “In 2016, paedophile hunters’ evidence was used in court on 114 occasions in a total 259 cases of meeting a child after sexual grooming.

“Given this statistic, I would say it’s vital that the police start working with paedophile hunters in some form, even if it’s a very basic relationship rather than a full-on collaboration.

“If the police created a 'Special Constable-type' role for paedophile hunters, it just would not work in the same way and we wouldn’t see the same success rate, given their strict procedures and red tape.

“Personally, I feel the police are in an incredibly difficult position. Not all paedophile hunters act professionally, and there have been many occasions where hunters stream stings live on Facebook and cause a scene in a public place – in turn, putting everyone in danger.”

However, Danny added: “I try to be optimistic, but I cannot see the police working with, endorsing or partnering with paedophile hunters any time soon.”

Wiltshire and Swindon’s police and crime commissioner, Angus Macpherson, welcomed what he described as “the involvement of the public in policing”, but warned of the dangers of entrapment by paedophile hunters.

He said: “More volunteers in policing is a good thing, and I have made considerable investment in the Special Constabulary to build up its strength.

“We need to ensure that those who volunteer with us do so for the right reason and with the right support.

“Entrapment by self-appointed paedophile hunters who pose as children is risky. We have heard of some successes but there is no control, boundaries or governance.”

An NSPCC spokesman said: “Online abuse and grooming is one of the biggest child protection challenges we face. While we have every sympathy for people concerned about suspected abusers, we believe that identifying offenders and investigating crimes is best left to the police.  

“When members of the public take the law into their own hands it can run the risk of driving offenders underground, endanger on-going police work and the legal process or result in innocent people being harassed – all of which may put more children at risk.  

“Protecting children from harm is the priority and we need to understand how police working with these ‘paedophile hunter’ groups could be done without jeopardising the case or putting themselves and children in danger.”