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A married former local authority boss was caught on camera trying to meet a 15-year-old boy for sex after grooming him on a gay dating site.
Grandfather-of-seven George Applegarth started chatting to who he thought was a teenage boy over Grindr but had been duped by paedophile hunters Guardians of the North.
Newcastle Crown Court heard within two days of starting the chat, the man who had been married for 42 years arranged to meet the underage teen at an Asda car park in Pennywell, Sunderland.
When he turned up to the meeting, Applegarth, 64, was confronted by members of the group, who had a video camera and quickly called the police.
Applegarth, of Murton, County Durham, pleaded guilty to attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming.