Police last night arrested a man on suspicion of attempting to groom a child, following a sting by online 'paedophile hunters'.

The 31-year-old man remains in custody at Swindon Police Station in Gablecross.

A video posted online shows the man involved in a short foot chase, pursued by the group who conducted the sting and police officers.

He was arrested near to the Village Tavern pub.

The national policing lead on child abuse investigation, Chief Constable Simon Bailey, said: “The police service is committed to tackling child sexual exploitation and abuse in all its forms.

“We have invested in more undercover resources and other covert resources to catch those seeking to groom children online and we are already starting to see more of these offenders being brought to justice.

“We understand the desire to protect children but any member of the public who has information about child sexual abuse, online or otherwise, should get in contact with the police so we can investigate and bring people to justice. So called paedophile hunters are taking risks they don’t understand and can undermine police investigations.

“Revealing the identity of suspected paedophiles gives the suspect the opportunity to destroy evidence before the police can investigate them. It can jeopardise ongoing police investigations and these people have no way of safeguarding child victims. It also leads to people who have been identified going missing or raising concerns for their safety. This can divert significant resources into protecting suspects, which would be better invested in investigating and, where there is evidence, prosecuting them.

“There is also the risk of wrongly accusing someone; if someone is wrongly accused of being a paedophile in a hugely public way that makes people who live with them, live near them, work with them assume they have committed the offence. The temptation to kill themselves may be just as great even if they are innocent; that is an appalling consequence to contemplate.

Anyone with concerns about online grooming should report them to Wiltshire Police on 101, to CEOP at www.ceop.police.uk, or to Crimestoppers. If a child is at immediate risk of harm, call 999.