GWENT Police have arrested a 33-year-old man from Gloucestershire, who was snared by a Gwent paedophile hunter group after he allegedly drove to Newport to meet a '14-year-old girl'.

Members of the PH Balance group, who operate in Cwmbran and Newport, placed the man under citizen’s arrest, after confronting him on Monday, September 25.

A member of the PH Balance group, who wished to remain anonymous, said the profile of a 14-year-old girl was used as a decoy for the sting operation.

The member said: “We set up a decoy profile of a 14-year-old girl and it was operated by a 31-year-old woman who works with us on the profile.

“We were contacted by a 30-year-old man, who approached the profile online."

The group member added that the group arranged to meet the 33-year-old in Newport.

“The rest of the team and I were present to confront the man and we placed him under citizen’s arrest and waited for the police to arrive," the member said.

“We understand that he is currently still with them at this moment in time.

“We also handed over more than 250 pages of evidence to the police from the internet.”

A spokeswoman for Gwent Police said: “At 3.15pm yesterday, we received a call from a member of the public regarding an individual they believed to be involved in grooming offences in the Newport area.

“A 33-year-old man from the Gloucestershire area was arrested on suspicion of attempting to meet a girl under 16 years of age following grooming.

“He is currently in police custody.”