Paedophile hunters: '˜We will continue to help the police after Gosport sting success'

Nigel Hall, who has been jailed for five years

A spokesperson for Skid Community said the Facebook will continue to fight the ‘epidemic’ of sexual predators targeting underage children online, following Hall’s five-year prison sentence.

Paedophile who molested boy with autism at Portsmouth Harbour train station is j...

Speaking to The News, a volunteer from the group said: ‘Until the police have the much-needed resources and training in place to deal with this online epidemic, then the team and myself will always feel this is an important thing to do.

‘We will continue to help the police with bringing the online threats to court.’

Reflecting on their trap which helped put Hall behind bars - in which they set up a fake account on dating app Grindr and posed as a 14-year-old boy - the Skid spokesperson added: ‘It’s potentially five years he will be unable to abuse minors or vulnerable adults.

‘My main thoughts go out to the victim and his family, who went through such a tragic ordeal.

‘I just hope that us exposing him allowed them some further justice and closure on this chapter.’

Hall pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder impeding choice, when he went into toilets at Portsmouth harbour train station with an autistic boy, and arranging to meet a child under 16 following sexual grooming. Skid members - posing as the 14-year-old - had arranged to meet him by a Co-op in Forton Road, Gosport.

Hampshire police have previously said that there are risks in what paedophile vigilante groups do.

But recent figures have shown that at least 150 people have been charged using vigilante evidence since 2015.