'Paedophile hunter' raises £30k in Kickstarter campaign

Stinson Hunter, who featured in the Channel 4 documentary The Paedophile Hunter, has raised nearly £30,000 on Kickstarter, in less than a week.

Mr Hunter, who poses on the internet as a child to trap "online predators", says he will use the money to help bring a "revolution within journalism".

He says he wants to make another documentary about his work in trapping and uncovering paedophiles online.

In the past he has been warned by police he could be breaking the law.

"Our original goals have been hit; the lack of internet safety for our children has been brought to the attention of not only you, but the media and the authorities, we have been labelled as vigilantes of the cyber era; risking life and limb to protect the public," he says on the Kickstarter page.

In a question-and-answer session on Reddit, Mr Hunter said he and his colleagues had previously been attacked while on a sting.

"I have been run over and broken both legs whilst doing this. It's quite dangerous, but no we never act hostile towards anybody," he said.

Police officials have already distanced themselves from his work, releasing a statement saying: "We do not encourage vigilantism of this kind and would warn those who take this approach that they could be breaking the law.

"They could also be disrupting criminal investigations and compromising the safety of vulnerable victims who would be best protected by the police."

A man who was once questioned by police after being tracked down by Mr Hunter later killed himself.

Michael Parkes, 45, was confronted and filmed in May 2013 by Mr Hunter, who had arranged to meet him after posing as a child online.

Speaking after the inquest, Stinson Hunter said he did not feel responsible for Mr Parkes' death.

"I feel for his family and it's a shame for them, but ultimately he made his own choices," he said.

"I have done the right thing. He had been arrested and bailed."

Mr Hunter had previously been told by West Midlands Police that he could be breaking the law.

In the Channel 4 show, he is shown talking to men online on over-18 sites, while pretending to be a child.

He then meets these men in real life and presents the evidence of their online, text and phone conversations and films the confrontation.

Mr Hunter then tells the men he will pass the file on to police and post the footage of their meeting online.

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