Ballymena self-declared 'paedophile hunter' who sprayed 'nonce' on car is granted bail

Prosecutors said Alan Palmer also had an airsoft gun with him when he targeted the complainant’s vehicle in the Ballykeel area of Ballymena.

Granting bail to the 55-year-old, a judge insisted the incident on June 5 should not have happened.

Mr Justice Fowler declared: “We do not need vigilantes such as this gentleman doing what he did with an imitation weapon in his (own) car.”

Palmer, of Parklands in the town, faces charges of criminal damage, possessing a firearm in a public place, and having an imitation gun with intent to cause fear of violence.

Police attended an address in the Crebilly Road area amid reports of a man acting suspiciously at the car belonging to the complainant.

Crown lawyer Mark Conlon said there had been an indication that the incident may be linked to an article published about a sex offender.

Palmer, who was accompanied by a dog, had to be separated from another man at the scene.

"Police noted the complainant’s vehicle had been spray painted with the word ‘nonce’,” Mr Conlon submitted. “He appeared badly shaken and was keen to leave the area as quickly as possible.”

Palmer “candidly” described himself as a paedophile hunter to officers and told them they would find a spray canister in his own car.

Searches of the vehicle also recovered an airsoft-type gun in the footwell area.

During interviews he accepted damaging the man’s car but claimed to have forgotten that he had the imitation firearm with him.

Defence counsel Michael Ward confirmed Palmer had made admissions and provided an explanation for the presence of the airgun.

But Mr Justice Fowler suggested it might have been brought to “reinforce” any message.

"He was there to make his views known in relation to this man, and if he was approached he may have ended up producing it,” the judge remarked.

Palmer was granted bail under conditions which include a prohibition from driving his car anywhere in the town.

The judge also ordered: “He will be excluded from the area of south Ballymena, to include both the Ballykeel 1 and Ballykeel 2 estates.”