Former miner David Waggott from Bedlington snared by paedophile hunters posing as schoolgirls

Ex-miner David Waggott thought he was talking to a 14 and a 15-year-old girl, during separate conversations, on social media app Skout.

But Newcastle Crown Court heard undercover groups Guardians of the North and Dark Justice were behind the fake teen profiles.

The court heard Waggott had complimented the decoy teens, describing them as "hot", "so pretty" and "stunning".

He then asked for photographs and went on to describe sexual acts in graphic detail.

During the conversations, which took place between September 2019 and January 2020, Waggott told both 'girls' he could not meet until they were older.

After Waggott was arrested he claimed he knew immediately that the profiles were fake and the teens were not real.

The 65-year-old, of Blagdon Court, Bedlington, admitted two charges of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

Judge Robert Adams sentenced him to seven months imprisonment, suspended for two years, with rehabilitation requirements.

Waggott must sign the sex offenders’ register and abide by a sexual harm prevention order for ten years.

The judge said Waggott, who has never been in trouble before, had been assessed as "low risk" and added: "He accepts what he did was foolish and regrets his behaviour."

The court was also told that Waggott was looking for "friendship" rather than sex when he went onto the internet sites after his marriage came to an end.

He had a good work record, and retired from the Coal Board in 2020.

Waggott has serious medical conditions, and the judge said he was capable of rehabilitation.