Gay couple say their lives have been ruined after being mistaken for paedophiles

A gay couple who were wrongly accused of being paedophiles by a vigilante “hunter group” say their lives have been ruined by the false claims.

The couple - named only as Jordan and Ben, from West Sussex - were targeted by the Yorkshire Child Protectors (YCP) group, who live streamed their arrest in Hull by police to around 30,000 people online.

The false sting took place when the pair were visiting Jordan’s sister in the city and were confronted by a mob outside her home.

The news comes a day after a report showed police in England and Wales are becoming “increasingly worried” about the methods of so-called “paedophile hunter” vigilante groups who set up fake child profiles online to snare offenders.

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When police seized the couple's phones, they realised the decoy was still being messaged by the actual offender (FACEBOOK)

Both men received homophobic slurs and abuse as they were cornered and filmed by the group, before police arrived at the scene to arrest them.

But when officers seized their mobile phones, it became clear they were innocent - as the decoy was still receiving messages from the suspect.

The original Facebook post containing the live stream of the couple’s arrest has since been taken down.

Read more:
Police 'increasingly worried' about vigilante paedophile hunter groups
Police warn ‘paedophile hunters’ after five arrested in Leeds
Paedophile hunters: how citizen-led policing is putting people's lives at risk

Although the group has since apologised and blamed the setup on false intelligence from other vigilantes, one of the couple has told of the consequences of being wrongly accused.

He said: “The groups involved didn’t do enough to say sorry and clear our names.

“We have today published our story to the tabloids and want you to know the truth. Please see the news article below and share where you can.

Cyber crime hacker.Unknown identity of cyber criminal .
The mistake follows police admitting they are growing "increasingly worried" about the methods of vigilante 'hunter' groups (GETTY)

“These groups cannot be allowed to continue with their renegade ways.”

Earlier this week, Dan Vajzovic, of the National Police Chiefs' Council, said self-styled hunters often divert police resources away from other offenders and commit offences themselves during their operations.

He said: "Some of those prosecutions may have diverted police resources from more significant offenders.

“Overall the activity of these groups is not positive."

Yahoo News UK contacted Humberside Police, who declined to comment on the incident, but said of vigilante hunter groups: “These ‘stings’ posted online impact on the work we already do, divert us from the core business of our specialist officers, and can impede on our own investigations.

“It could give a suspect time to delete evidence, or even move away from a location before we can fully investigate.

“If there is evidence available against a person, then we will investigate it in an appropriate and proportional way.

“Our priority is the protection and the safety of the public and victims, and to investigate, find and prosecute child sex offenders.”