A FARNHAM man caught grooming someone he thought was an 11-year-old girl for sex, has been sentenced to four years in prison at Guildford Crown Court.

The court heard that Andy Field, 24, of Cobbetts Way, made contact with two Facebook profiles that purported to be 11 year old girls and, after sending a series of explicit messages, suggested meeting them at Farnham railway station on Sunday, April 9.

When he arrived he was met by two members of the Midland Hunters vigilante group who had set up the profiles. He claimed he was on his way for a job interview, but the self-styled ‘paedophile hunters’ called the police and he was arrested.

When officers searched him he was found to be carrying condoms, a knife and two mobile phones – one of which had been used to communicate with the profiles.

Field was sentenced to three years each for two counts of attempting to meet a girl under 16 years of age following grooming, to run concurrently, and a further year for possession of a bladed article in a public place, to run consecutively.

On his release he will be subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Dc Phil Potter, who investigated the incident, said: “I am pleased that this individual has been taken off the streets for a long period of time, and that he will be subject to thorough monitoring when he is finally released.

“However, I would urge anyone who has information about an alleged crime not to take matters into their own hands and to instead report their concerns to the police to fully investigate.”