A man who slashed his own throat on a Facebook live stream had just been confronted by a team of paedophile-hunting vigilantes, it has emerged.

The vigilante group, “Taxi For Nonce” or TFN, had confronted the man outside Kirkby police station on Merseyside.

As they cornered the suspected sex offender, he drew a knife and slashed himself across the throat, causing serious injuries.

In the heat of the moment, the vigilantes forgot that video of the incident was being streamed live to their 10,000 Facebook followers.

Police have reminded members of the public to contact them directly if they have suspicions that someone is a sex offender, rather than taking matters into their own hands.

In a statement, the group said that any child that had got into the suspect’s car could have been at risk: “Why would you be carrying a knife?” they said. “It wasn't a pen-knife for work or a Stanley blade. That knife was a deadly weapon”.

“If he could do that to himself,” they added, “what would he have done to a child?”

They stressed that no-one in the group could have anticipated this outcome and expressed their extreme concern for the victim of their anti-paedophile “sting”.

Police confirmed that a 55-year-old man from Kirkby, Merseyside, was later arrested on suspicion of grooming a child under 14 and possession of a bladed article.

Merseyside Police said: "At around 5pm officers attended an incident near Kirkby Police Station where a man was detained.

"The man was taken to hospital with serious injuries to his throat following the incident where he remains in a stable condition.

"A 55-year-old man from Kirkby was later arrested on suspicion of grooming a child under 14 and possession of a bladed article."

Police have confirmed an investigation is underway and a scene was in place while officers continued witness enquiries and examined CCTV footage.

A spokesperson for Merseyside Police added: "Please be mindful that this is a live investigation and not to speculate about the circumstances of this incident as it could jeopardise our enquiries.

"Please provide information on suspected sexual offences via the following channels: call 999 if a crime is in progress, call 101 to speak to specially trained operators, or pass information on via @MerPolCC on Twitter or ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ on Facebook.

"You can also contact @CrimestoppersUK anonymously on 0800 555 111."

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