A MAN who turned up at a park expecting to meet a 14-year-old girl known on the internet as "Little Laura" has been given a community order and must now register as a sex offender for five years.

The court heard that George Hall, 52, had gone to the park intending to involve himself in "some sexual activity" with the girl - only to find himself being filmed by a vigilante paedophile hunter.

Leeds Crown Court heard today that Hall, of Park Street, Saltaire, had chatted to the girl via the Badoo networking site in July 2013 unaware hers was a fake profile set up to trap people with a sexual interest in children.

Gerald Hendron said Hall continued with his contact even after she had told him she was probably too young for him at 14.

Initially he said he was interested only if she was 16 but he pressed on with his suggestion of meeting her and eventually a time and date was set for a meeting in Shibden Park, Halifax.

He said he would bring a towel with him so they could lie on the grass and she would not get dirty.

On the day itself July 12 he sent her a message saying he was waiting in the park by an ice-cream van adding “please don’t let me down.”

But instead he was then recorded by the vigilante who passed his details on to the police.

He was arrested in October that year and said he believed “Little Laura” was 16. He said he had been going on Badoo for about six months not using his real name when his marriage was “rocky.

Catherine Silverton representing him said he was a man of previous good character who would only be exposed to much more serious offenders if given a jail term but could be worked with by the probation service on an intensive programme.

Hall admitted attempting to meet a child with intent to have sexual activity.

He was given a three year community order with supervision and an activity programme up to 60 days. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for five years.

Judge Neil Clark said it was accepted there was no child, simply someone pretending to be one. “You went to meet them clearly intending to involve yourself in some sexual activity but there was no one there.”

He said it was accepted Hall was a man of previous good character and while a suspended sentence might have been appropriate the work probation would do with him could not completed in the maximum time a sentence could be suspended.