A nurse dubbed the Canterbury Cannibal is living metres from a children’s play park after being released from prison early, it has emerged.

Pervert Dale Bolinger, who previously lived in Canterbury and worked at the QEQM Hospital in Margate, was jailed in 2014 after he plotted to rape, behead and eat a child.

But the 65-year-old was granted an early release from prison for good behaviour after just three years behind bars.

Formerly of Davidson Road in Canterbury, he later moved to America – where the Mirror has tracked him down to Lincoln, Nebraska.

He now lives with a convicted sex offender in a property said to be yards away from a playground.

Speaking to the newspaper, a dad-of-two who lives near the pair said: “This creeps me out.

“I appreciate sex offenders have to live somewhere but next to a kids’ playground?”

Bolinger indulged in chats on the Dark Web with someone he believed was a 14-year-old schoolgirl in an attempt to lure her to his city home.

During his trial at Canterbury Crown Court in 2014, the then-married dad – who kept his desires a secret from his wife – discussed beheading his victim, before eating her.

He even bought an axe the day before he was due to meet the girl at Ashford railway station – and then went to wait for the train to arrive.

He also attempted to poison a former colleague with dry cleaning fluid.

The jury was told by a psychiatrist that Bolinger, an American citizen, was not suffering from mental illness and would probably continue to have warped fantasies regardless of his punishment.

As she sentenced Bolinger to nine years in prison, Judge Adele Williams described his behaviour as “abhorrent, shocking, repulsive and dangerous”.

When asked by the Mirror if he wanted to say sorry for his crimes in Britain, the sexagenarian said: “**** off and die.”

Asked if he had any remorse, he added "loads”.

Following his early release in 2017, he started living in Blair, Nebraska.

But after residents got wind of his presence, he was taken into custody at Washington County jail. It was believed the move was for his own safety amid fears of vigilante attacks.

Bolinger was later transferred to a 120-bed “sex offender treatment centre”, called Norfolk Regional Centre. He was reportedly released last week.

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