A MAN has been arrested after a vigilante group carried out a “sting” in Southend.

The group, known as Secret Whispers UK, claim they had been in communication with the man - while posing as an 11-year-old girl - who is understood to have come armed with a knife to the meeting.

In a video, widely shared on Facebook, the group arranged to meet the man who they say had been told on 14 occasions the girl he thought he was meeting was 11-years-old.

During the heated exchange, which took place near Ambleside Drive, Southend, the group accused the man of sending indecent images to the decoy profile.

The man in the video, who said he has a two-year-old daughter, was later found to be in possession of a six-inch knife which the paedophile hunters took from him while they waited for police officers to arrive.

The group were forced to move their exchange to Hastings Road after residents began making threats to the suspect after learning why the paedophile hunters were there.

A spokesman for Essex Police confirmed a man had been arrested at the location for a number of offences.

He said: “A man has been arrested on suspicion of two sexual offences. The 29-year-old, from Southend, was arrested on Hastings Road by officers just after 12.15am on May 2. He was also arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon.

“He remains in custody for questioning.”

The incident is the latest in a number of paedophile hunter snares leading to arrests in south Essex.

In February, one incident saw a man arrested on Canvey after being confronted, also by Secret Whispers UK, while a man from Leigh was arrested over alleged sexual communications with an adult posing as a 13-year-old child, following a sting by group Soloceptors.

Paedophile hunter groups have grown in prominence, with many across the country using decoy profiles to snare alleged perverts.

Their actions have proved controversial with critics pointing to potential issues such as entrapment.

The NSPCC has also spoken out against vigilantes tracking down suspected sex offenders and says this must be done by the proper authorities.