A PAEDOPHILE cub leader from Taunton was arrested as he booked into a hotel in the belief he was meeting a 12-year-old girl he had befriended online for sex in a hotel.

Scott Nicholls was taken aback when three police officers pounced and handcuffed him as he spoke to the receptionist at the check-in desk.

Nicholls, 41, of Addison Grove, Taunton, who was carrying a bag containing sexual items, including handcuffs, bondage restraints and a camcorder, offered no resistance as the officers searched his pockets and was led away to be questioned at a nearby police station.

The pervert told police: “I knew this was a set up. My life is ruined.”

Nicholls was jailed for six years with an extension of four years after he admitted 19 charges, including attempting to incite girls, possessing and distributing indecent images of children and causing a child to watch a sexual activity when he appeared at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday.

The court heard that Nicholls, who was an ambulance worker, attempted to groom an undercover police officer posing as 12-year-old ‘Welsh Beth’ online.

He arranged to drive up from Taunton to meet her at the Premier Inn, in Bridgend, on June 26, where he was arrested by the officers after parking in the car park and checking his booking at reception.

Officers then searched his home in Taunton, where they uncovered indecent images and videos on his computer.

They also discovered that Nicholls has tried to groom other young girls in chat rooms.

He was described in court a “a predatory and persistent paedophile”, although his defence said he now acknowledges he needs treatment.

Jailing him, Judge Eleri Rees said Nicholls posed a “very high risk of serious harm towards children”.

Following the case, Dec Supt Simon Davies said: “Scott Nicholls thought that he was going to meet with a young vulnerable 12-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity.

“The commitment of South Wales Police to tackle all aspects of child sexual abuse ensured that was he detained before an innocent child was ever was abused.

“The sentence passed by the court will hopefully act as a deterrent to others who pursue this vile activity online in the belief that they will never be caught.”

A spokeswoman for South Western Ambulance Trust, which previously employed Nicholls, said: "This former employee left the trust in 2013 and was subject to a Criminal Records Bureau check prior to commencing work with the organisation. The trust takes such matters extremely seriously.”