A LORRY driver and former soldier from Flintshire was caught by so-called 'paedophile hunters' when he arranged to meet a fake 13-year-old girl for sex.

Craig Tew, 42, of Dodds Court, Shotton, was jailed for two years and three months after he pleaded guilty to nine offences related to child grooming.

Mold Crown Court heard he had spent 24 days exchanging progressively more suggestive and explicit messages with ‘Amelie’, who he had met on social media.

He told her he was a 28-year-old soldier and promised to buy her gifts including a Pandora necklace and a mobile phone, and suggested taking her on a “date” to the cinema or skiing.

What he did not know was that Amelie’s profile had been set up by a group called Dark Light, which describes itself as an ‘online child protection enforcement team’.

Tew, who served for nine months in Iraq with the Territorial Army in 2004, arranged to meet the girl in Springfield Park in Rochdale on October 28 last year.

James Coutts, prosecuting, said: “He told her he would treat her like a princess and she wouldn’t have to pay for anything.”

However, when Tew arrived at the Greater Manchester park he was confronted by the paedophile hunters, who called on police to arrest him when he became aggressive.

Officers discovered a strip of Viagra-type tablets and a box of condoms in his car.

Mr Coutts told the court that in Tew’s police interview he claimed he had only befriended and arranged to meet the teenager because he was a “Good Samaritan” and he felt she was lonely.

He said he “wasn’t interested in young girls” and had “no idea” why there were Viagra tablets in his car.

However, he later pleaded guilty to nine offences, which included attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child, attempting to arrange the commission of child sex offences and attempting to meet a girl under 16 following grooming.

Defence barrister Anthony Morris urged Judge Timothy Petts to suspend any prison sentence saying his client would be “better dealt with in the community”.

He added Tew had now acknowledged his offending and was “entirely frank” with the probation officer who compiled his pre-sentence report but the judge said only a sentence of immediate custody would be appropriate.

Judge Petts told Tew: “Over 24 days you had repeatedly sent sexual communications to someone who you believed to be a 13-year-old girl.

“You arranged a meeting and it is clear from your own comments that you were worried about getting into trouble. But… you attempted to act out your perverted fantasies by meeting her on October 28 when you were apprehended.”

Besides his prison sentence, Tew must sign on the sexual offenders register for 10 years and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) for the same duration.

The court heard he had one previous conviction for possession of an imitation firearm in a public place that dates back to 2006.

After the hearing Detective Constable Alison Lee said: “Craig Tew is a dangerous individual with a clear sexual interest in children.

"North Wales Police will leave no stone unturned in investigating such individuals to bring them to justice and safeguard vulnerable people within our communities.

"If any members of the public have any concerns then I would strongly encourage them to come forward and contact the police so we can support victims while investigating and bringing offenders to justice.”