The woman and two men were seen handcuffing a man at a flat in County Durham
Vigilante paedophile hunters have caused outrage after appearing to dress like police before handcuffing a suspect in footage streamed live on Facebook.
The woman and two men were allegedly seen handcuffing a man at a flat in Billingham, County Durham, telling him they were carrying out a citizen’s arrest.
The man was said to have been led to the back of a car park and questioned at length about alleged child grooming, before police turned up at the scene.
Cleveland Police confirmed a 20-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of grooming a girl aged under 16 before being released under investigation.
But the style of the raid by the vigilantes was slammed by Guardians of the North and Dark Justice, two other paedophile hunter groups which operate nearby.
The 25-minute long clip – streamed live on Facebook – allegedly begins as three people, who can be apparently seen wearing blue forensic gloves, knock on the door of the flat.
A man allegedly answers and is asked to step outside by a man wearing a black top and what looks like a protective vest, with a radio hanging from it.
The man was allegedly led to a car park and questioned about alleged child grooming
Handcuffs apparently hang from his belt, and he can alllegedly be seen to be wearing an earpiece.
The man is then handcuffed and told that the group are carrying out a citizen’s arrest. The man in handcuffs then remarks: ‘Are you even proper coppers?’
He is led downstairs, still with hands cuffed behind his back, and led to the back of a car park, it was claimed.
The handcuffs are briefly removed before his hands are again allegedly shackled in front of his body, where he is questioned at length about ‘child grooming’.
The footage – said to have been hosted on the Innocence Project NW page – was live streamed but has since been taken down.
The style of the raid by the vigilantes was slammed by two other paedophile hunter groups
North East paedophile hunters Guardians of the North said on its Facebook page the video had ‘totally shocked our team’.
It told Teesside Live: ‘We don’t agree with their methods, we work within the law they are going to spoil it for the good teams like ourselves and Dark Justice.’
And fellow North East vigilante group Dark Justice warned that those using handcuffs must be trained, regulated and insured.
A statement on its Facebook page said: ‘We don’t mind other groups catching people, but don’t be idiots about it.’
Vigilante groups have proven controversial, but the work of Guardians of the North and Dark Justice has led to numerous convictions in the North East.
However, Cleveland’s Crime Commissioner Barry Coppinger said last year that groups should not receive police training to catch perverts.
A police spokesman said: ‘A 20-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of grooming a girl under 16 years of age and failure to comply with notification requirements at an address in Billingham on Monday August 20. He has been released under investigation whilst enquiries continue.’
In May, MailOnline got access to Sunderland-based Guardians Of The North and Dark Justice, who between them have caught multiple high-profile suspects around the country including soldiers, teachers and a mayor. Read the story here.
Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.