'Paedo hunters' strike again

Self-styled “paedophile hunters” tricked the man into meeting them at Leigh bus station on Sunday evening, having posed as a 15-year-old girl on a messaging app to lure him into a trap.

They then posted a video online, chronicling their 20-minute encounter with him.

It is claimed that the man had travelled from Newcastle to meet a fictional girl called Amy, and had even booked a hotel room in central Manchester for the pair to go to.

But he was instead met with a decoy, a local resident who confronted him over the illicit text messages he had been sending to who he thought was an under-aged girl.

During the heated encounter, the decoy told the man: “I was Amy, that was me,” before stating that he had told the man about the girl’s age several times.

He went on to read out some of the vile messages that the man sent.

When given the chance to explain himself, the accused said: “I apologise for my behaviour. No lies.

“I messed up my life big time,” he adds.

In a surprise turn of events, the apprehended man then picks up his phone and appears to call the police himself, seemingly admitting his wrongdoing.

It is unclear whether he actually called the police.

The video ends just as officers arrive on scene, having also been called by the accusers.

It is the second amateur sting operation to have taken place in the borough in the last few days.

On Thursday evening, a man was caught at Wigan North Western railway station after travelling to meet a 14-year-old girl, who was actually a 28-year-old man.