FOOTAGE of the moment an Andover man tried to meet a nine-year-old boy at Andover train station has gone viral on TikTok. 

Callum Lee Bates was given a community order and placed on the sex offenders' register following a hearing at Winchester Crown Court in April 2018.

The 21-year-old, who was 18 at the time, attempted to meet a nine-year-old - comparing their relationship to "Romeo and Juliet". 

He was caught by SKID Group, operated by vigilante Alex Westgarth, based in Hampshire. 

The video clip which shows Callum arriving at the station has gone viral on video sharing app TikTok with over three million views in the last six days.

Callum was due in court today (Monday) accused of breaching his previous order. 

Judge Keith Culter, who served Callum with a community sentence back in 2018, previously criticised so-called 'paedophile hunters' and expressed concerns about their practices. 
He said at the time that “it was right that he had been exposed” but added “vigilante groups should not interfere in sentencing and plastering Mr Bates all over social media has been detrimental to his mental health".

In sentencing Judge Cutler CBE said it was clear Bates is a “highly vulnerable person” but added “you have much to give and there is a bright future and with the right help and guidance you can achieve this.”

Speaking about the reaction to the video and defending his decision to post it to TikTok, Alex said he takes a "moral and compassionate" approach to calling out suspected paedophiles. He said he is "different" to other groups which allegedly use "force and violence".

He revealed he has been in touch with Callum and his mum prior to his most recent court hearing, where he said Callum ‘thanked him’ after his conviction led to mental health diagnosis.
Bates has indicated a plea of guilty to the single charge at Basingstoke Magistrates.

Alex said he thought Judge Culter's sentence was "very lenient" and said that "the sentencing guidelines in the UK need to change". 

He thought the video of Callum being caught in particular struck a cord with people "because of his age and the age of the decoy child at the time". 

Alex said he chose to share it to TikTok deliberately, saying: "I came off of Facebook and went to TikTok because it's a platform for adults and children.

"My videoes create awarness for children that the person on the other end ofthe chat could be an adult.

"My videos aren't just sting videos but I make educational ones too.

"Hopefully [what I do] acts as a deterrent for paedophiles on these platforms because they might wonder if they are speaking to a paedophile hunter instead of a child."

Alex said he wants to create a regulated organisation and work with the police and government to combat online child abuse.