Paedophile hunters: Sheffield residents terrified as five men bang on doors in flats looking for target

Brook Place Apartments in Summerfield Street, Sharrow, was besieged on Monday, March 14 when a group of men tailgated their way inside and claimed they had the right to search the block high and low because they were from a self-styled vigilante cell.

Residents told The Star how, after ‘tailgating’ their way into the building at around 8pm, they spent the next 90 minutes banging on doors and menacing occupants in search of an unknown target. They said five men – one clad in a motorcycle helmet – roamed the halls, shouting and frightening innocent people.

One resident said: “We have a joint WhatsApp and were sharing information on what was happening. It started around 8pm when a bunch of vehicles parked in the Investec car park nearby. It looked like a group of quite suspicious-looking people acting weird and taking photos and acting quite scary.

“They tailgated their way into the building and started banging on doors. One of them was wearing a motorcycle helmet and another was waving a file around. They said they were from a vigilante paedophile hunting group and were looking for someone.

“They were here for 90 minutes. It was all very surreal – we felt like we were in a movie. Eventually one of them was on the terrace downstairs and a residents went down with their dogs and persuaded him and his companions to leave.”

Residents have criticised Brook Place’s landlords, Grainger PLC, for their response to the incident. They claimed there were no staff on site and, when the company did respond, it only sent a single member of security staff who arrived at 9.45pm and who, reportedly, did not have a pass to enter the building and also had to ‘tailgate’ their way in.

The resident who spoke to The Star said they rang South Yorkshire Police during the incident, but were told officers would not come out unless there was a specific crime in progress. A spokesperson for SYP said the force did not receive any calls until the security company rang at 9.37pm.

The resident said the group of intruders claimed they were from ‘S.T.O.P Team UK’, a online paedophile hunter group. When approached for comment, founder of S.T.O.P UK, Ratty Rowland, denied his group’s involvement, saying: “I have no knowledge of any of our teams being out last night. Nothing was scheduled for last night.

“That sounds a worrying incident that a group of men are imitating our excellent reputation. There are also many teams UK wide, and if they were banging on doors looking for someone, then their research was well off. This is something we do not practice.”

Meanwhile, the resident criticised security at Brook House, saying: “When the building originally opened, 24 hour desk security was provided. However, this was withdrawn after about a year, and - despite repeated incidents - Grainger have not provided any sort of replacement.”

The resident claimed the building suffered a serious break-in to the parcel and mail room last year.

A spokesperson for Brook Place said the firm was working with the police and encouraged any witnesses to file a report with SYP.

The spokesperson said: “We are aware of an alleged incident of intruders at Brook Place on the evening of March 13. We are in the process of speaking to residents who witnessed the incident, and although our investigations continue; early indications suggest the intruders were trying to locate an ex-resident. Our onsite team have filed a report with the police, as have other residents, and we encourage any residents who witnessed the incident to also contact the police.

“Brook Place is a safe and secure development with a very strong resident community. As a responsible landlord, the health, safety, and security of our residents is an absolute priority.

“In addition to our Resident Services team, who are onsite from 8am to 8pm from Monday to Friday and from 9am to 6pm at weekends, we also have 24/7 security cover through a remote monitoring service. This includes continuous monitoring of all CCTV across the site, with a 24-hour response mobile patrol, far exceeding the security provision of a typical residential block. We also work closely with South Yorkshire Police to continually review our security strategy.

“In this instance, we were alerted to the incident via our remote monitoring service, who also alerted the police, and a patrol was immediately instructed.”