A paedophile has become the fourth in Burton to be snared by a vigilante group and has ended up in court .

Shane Manning, 52, of Green Street, in the town, was trying to entice a '13-year-old girl' into sexual activity over a two-week period.

Manning was trapped following a sting by the vigilante group Keeping Kids Safe, whose members had posed as the child to catch him.

He had been chatting online to a member of Keeping Kids Safe, believing he was talking to a 13-year-old girl called April. The conversation turned sexual and Manning was later confronted by the group after arranging to meet the 'girl' in Burton.

He initially appeared at Cannock Magistrates’ Court where he admitted inciting a girl under the age of 16 to engage in sexual activity and attempting to engage in sexual activity with a girl under 16.

His case was sent to Stafford Crown Court for sentencing, where he was made the subject of a two-year community order including a rehabilitation activity requirement of 30 days. He also had to sign the sex offenders' register for five years.

The offences took place in Burton between November 10 and November 26, the court was told.

After the case, Keeping Kids Safe founder Patrick Fripps claimed that the town was suffering from a paedophile problem.

Nationally Keeping Kids Safe has also seen the successful convictions of at least four high-profile cases, with one man jailed.

Keeping Kids Safe was set up in April last year, he said. Members of the team attempt to catch paedophiles by engaging in conversations with men in internet chatrooms, while posing as children, but they always make it clear that it is a 'child' the man is talking to, he said.

If the conversations turn sexual, the group arrange to meet with the man and the sting is then often broadcast live on social media as they confront the person. The police are also called, he said.

Mr Fripps said after Manning's case: "We always feel a great achievement that a self-funded civilian team has achieved another conviction but again disappointed with Stafford Crown Court as again they fail to give tougher sentences.

"If Shane was facing sentencing elsewhere in the country, chances are he would have been serving a custodial sentence and would definitely be on a sexual harm prevention order.

"This is the reason we live stream because we believe in exposure. Parents deserve to know if a convicted sexual predator lives nearby."

Mr Fripps claims around eight out of 10 people they trap in operations eventually go on to exchange sexually explicit texts and pictures with youngsters, knowing they are underage.

The three other cases in Burton were that of Martin Rhodes, 45, of Wyggeston Street, Burton, who was jailed for four years in July last year; George Ingledew, 59, of Princess Street, who was made the subject of a 12-month jail sentence suspended for two years in October and Kevin Collins, 44, of Empire Road, Winshill, who was also made the subject of a 12-month jail sentence suspended for two years in September.

A spokesman for the judiciary said after the Manning case: "All judges and magistrates deal with each case individually. They will make a decision based on the fact of each case and within sentencing guidelines. For example there may be aggravating and mitigating factors in each case which may influence the outcome of the sentence."

Children's cruelty prevention charity the NSPCC has said the latest case proves it is "vital" that children are warned of the dangers of online grooming by their parents.

An NSPCC spokesman said: "This is a sadly typical example of a predator using the internet to groom what he thought was a vulnerable child.

"It is vital that parents speak to their children about the dangers of online grooming and the different ways to keep them safe.

"Information and advice is available on the NSPCC website and the online safety helpline 0808 800 5002, run with O2.

"The NSPCC is calling for social media companies to better protect children, via measures such as default privacy settings, content filters and grooming alerts to flag sinister behaviour. These should all be enforced by an independent regulator put in place by Government."

Staffordshire Police has reminded people not to take matters into their own hands.

A spokesman said: "We understand the desire to protect children, but we urge members of the public not to take matters into their own hands. Anyone who has information about child sexual abuse, online or otherwise, should get in contact with the police so we can investigate and bring people to justice."