Police have urged the public not to pursue alleged paedophiles after a video showed a man being challenged by a group of men at Bluewater.

The footage, which has been posted on YouTube, shows three people confronting a man his 30s, who is from Strood, at the shopping centre.

The video, which has been viewed more than 1,400 times, shows the men interrogating the suspect over claims he was at the shopping mall to meet up with a 13-year-old girl.

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The man is waiting outside HMV when the group approach him and accuse him of arranging to meet a teenage girl called Sarah. They claim he has been involved in an online chat with her and has asked her for sex.

One of the men calls the suspect "disgusting" and aggressively threatens to throw him over the mall's balcony.

Another member of the group also accuses him of calling the girl "cute" and says he had previously tried to groom another 13-year-old in another part of the country in October 2015, claiming he had seen reports on the incident.

One of the men then tells him they have been following him for weeks and reveal more of his supposed online chat.

VIDEO: The group confronts the alleged paedophile at Bluewater

They say the man, who claims on the footage he has learning difficulties, told the girl he liked her and made sexually suggestive remarks.

The trio also say he had told the girl during the conversation that she should delete all messages from him.

The group, who call themselves The Paedophile Hunter or The Hunted One, film and challenge the man for more than nine minutes, telling him he would be arrested later and his house would be searched, before police officers arrive and the recording is stopped.

"I would discourage people from taking the law into their own hands to avoid them being put in any possible danger" - DI Robert Chitham

It is understood the man was taken away by officers, and for his own protection, has now been moved from his home in Strood to an address Northamptonshire.

Police confirmed a 30-year-old man from Strood was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of grooming. He has been bailed pending further enquiries.

Detective Inspector Robert Chitham, of the Paedophile Online Investigation Team at Kent Police, said: "I would discourage people from taking the law into their own hands to avoid them being put in any possible danger.

"Revealing the identity of suspected paedophiles, often on the basis of little information, could lead to suspects being threatened.

"This can divert significant police resources into protecting suspects, which would be better invested in investigating and, where there is evidence, prosecuting them."

DI Chitham added: "I would like to reassure the public that we proactively target this type of offence and work hard to gather evidence in a lawful manner and that will stand up in court.

"I would encourage anyone with information about online grooming to contact police on 101 or Kent Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

"If you think a child is at immediate risk of harm call 999. For further information on the issue, please contact the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) by visiting www.ceop.police.uk"