A SELF-STYLED paedophile hunter who apprehended a child sex offender has gone on trial for holding him as a prisoner against his will.

Shane Brannigan is alleged to have used excessive force when he made a citizens arrest on paedophile Andrew Vaughan who he had caught in a sting operation.

A court heard how Mr Vaughan had sent lewd videos of himself to what he thought was an underage girl when in fact it was to Brannigan's organisation.

The 41-year-old then travelled from his home in West Yorkshire to Bournemouth to confront Mr Vaughan and detain him for the police.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard that Brannigan and a colleague forced their way into Mr Vaughan's car and refused to let him out.

It is alleged that Brannigan put Mr Vaughan, 49, in a headlock and punched him in the ribs and head during the 30 minutes before police arrived.

A jury heard that Mr Vaughan was later convicted and jailed for sexual communication with an underage child based on Brannigan's sting operation.

But Robert Bryan, prosecuting, said Brannigan's 'Wild West' methods had gone beyond making a citizens arrest.

And despite the 'unpalatable' nature of the offence committed by Mr Vaughan, Brannigan was charged with false imprisonment.

He said: "This case concerns what was once called a citizens arrest.

"As you can imagine this is heavily regulated by the law and you cannot use excessive force when making an arrest.

"People can't put themselves above the law and become vigilantes. We have police officers for a reason - this is not the Wild West.

"This is still the case no matter how unpalatable the offence is.

"Nobody is going to shy away from what Mr Vaughan was convicted of but we cannot condone people acting in the way Mr Brannigan acted.

"This is why the Crown has brought this case against him."

Mr Bryan said the incident happened on October 25, 2017, when Mr Vaughan arrived him from work to find Brannigan and a colleague waiting for him.

The prosecutor added: "The two men came up to his car. They got into the car and confronted him.

"They are are what they would describe as paedophile hunters but in this incident they were vigilantes."

Giving evidence, Mr Vaughan told the jury how he feared for his life in the car and was relieved when the police turned up to arrest him.

The arrest was caught on camera by Brannigan and the footage was shown to the jury.

During the recording Mr Vaughan can be heard screaming for help as well as banging his head against the steering wheel, setting off the horn.

Giving evidence from behind a curtain, Mr Vaughan said: "The two men got into my car and got hold of me.

"They would not let go. I just wanted to go into my house.

"Mr Brannigan had me in a headlock and I panicked.

"I was fearing for my life and was actually relieved when the police arrived because that made them stop."

During his evidence Mr Vaughan claimed that his ribs had been bruised by Brannigan.

But Mark Florida-Jones, defending, put to Mr Vaughan that a police report from the time recorded 'no bruising or obvious sign of rib pain'.

Mr Vaughan also admitted that he had bitten Brannigan and headbutted him as he attempted to escape the car.

Mr Florida-Jones, claimed the defendant had only been restraining Mr Vaughan to prevent him getting out of the car.

He said: "They had to restrain you to stop you leaving the car but at no point did Mr Brannigan punch you.

"To be blunt, I would put it to you that you are lying.

"You wanted Mr Brannigan to punch you so when the police arrived you could be treated as a victim.

"He admitted that he wanted to hit you but he did not."

Brannigan, from Pontefract, West Yorks, denies the charge of false imprisonment and the trial continues.