A Monmouth man has been sentenced to eight years in prison comprising of four years imprisonment extended by four years licence for breaching his sexual harm prevention order by arranging to meet a child under the age of 16.

A previous sex offender, 39-year-old Simon Leddington of Cherry Walk, Monmouth, was caught in a paedophile sting operation after talking to numerous child decoys and turning up to meet what he thought was a child in a park on a Sunday afternoon.

Instead he was met by members of a paedophile hunter group from Merthyr Tydfil who confronted him and they said he had instead been talking to them whilst thinking he was arranging to meet a 13-year-old child and was arrested by police for a number of offences.

He had previously been sentenced to 200 hours community service a number of years ago for a similar offence and was already on the Sex Offenders Register.

He was found guilty at Newport Crown Court on 16th November of arranging or facilitating commission of a child sex offence, a breach of sexual harm prevention order and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

He has to register on the Sex

Offenders Register for life and barred from working with children for life.