Dramatic moment former primary school teacher nervously smokes a cigarette as 'the 15-year-old boy he hoped to meet for sex' turns out to be paedophile hunters

• e-mail

This is the dramatic moment a former primary school teacher was confronted by a paedophile vigilante group for allegedly trying to meet a 15-year-old boy for sex.

James Hope, of Faversham, Kent, was confronted on video in a set up by The Hunted One when he apparently thought he was waiting to meet the teenager.

The 38-year-old council worker, who helped vulnerable children in care, was spoken to at the town's railway station in footage posted online by the organisation.

James Hope, of Faversham, Kent, was confronted on video in a set up by The Hunted One when he apparently thought he was waiting to meet the teenager

The 38-year-old council worker, who helped vulnerable children in care, was spoken to at the town's railway station in footage posted online by the organisation

The video contains obscene language and a group of men asking him what he was doing – including whether he thought it was acceptable.

He was asked: 'What are you doing here? Is that a photograph of you? You work with children anyway don't you? Do you think it's OK to come and meet a child?'

Hope replies: 'He's 16 isn't he?'  In another video he is seen being led away by police.

He has now admitted attempting to meet a boy aged under 16 for penetrative sexual activity and been released on bail, according to KentOnline. 

He used to be an assistant headteacher at Kent County Council's Virtual School, which helps educate children in care and those who had left school early.

Hope - who had also worked as a teacher at St Mary's Primary School in Faversham - will be sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court at a later date.

The video contains obscene language and a group of men asking him what he was doing – including whether he thought it was acceptable

Hope has now admitted attempting to meet a boy aged under 16 for penetrative sexual activity and been released on bail

A council spokesman said Hope joined the Virtual School last January but was immediately suspended following his arrest eight months later.

Last week two self-styled paedophile hunters were arrested for impersonating a police officer as concerns grow over vigilante groups.

Officers arrested the men aged 34 and 43 just a week after senior police in Kent issued a stark warning over the activities of paedophile hunters.

On Easter Sunday an undercover sting of an alleged offender was broadcast live on Facebook - but a group of men then appeared to attack the suspect.

The Hunted One, which targets suspected offenders, vowed not to livestream its confrontations again after the incident at Bluewater shopping centre in Kent.

Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.