A SEX offender previously caught in a sting by a group of paedophile hunters has been convicted of another offence.

Ian Strickland admitted that he failed to hand over an internet-enabled device for checking by police in breach of his sexual harm prevention order.

The 48-year-old was previously jailed over a string of child sex offences after he was caught out by the online group Dark Light. 

Appearing at South Cumbria Magistrates' Court, he admitted breaching the court order designed to limit his online activity to protect children.

The court heard the Barrow man, of Lesh Lane, failed to hand over the device for examination by police on May 15.

He was remanded in custody by the court and is due to be sentenced at Preston Crown Court on June 26.

Strickland came to the attention of police in 2018 after the group confronted and detained him at his home in Wordsworth Street.

He was given an 18-month jail term by the judge after pleading guilty to a string of child sex offences.

He was charged with attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, attempting to meet a child under 16 after grooming and attempting to engage in sexual activity with a child.

He was also made subject to the SHPO for ten years.

After the sting, a house was targeted by vandals, who smashed a window of a house on Wordsworth Street wrongly thought to be Strickland's.

In 2019, Strickland was back in court after he tried to groom three children through the video game Call of Duty and was caught out when Microsoft passed his details to the police.

Strickland was playing the Infinite Warfare edition of the Xbox game when he started sexual conversations with two 12-year-old girls and a boy, 13.

Preston Crown Court heard Strickland had spoken to one girl almost daily between February and April, 2018, telling her she was 'smart, beautiful and had a nice body'.

A later court hearing in 2021 heard Strickland had breached the order three times. He was later found in possession of a mobile phone capable of accessing the internet that he had failed to disclose to his offender manager.