Paedophile 'moved again'

Sidney Cooke: taken to Yeovil, Somerset to spend the night in a police cell

A person has been rushed out of a police station in Yeovil, Somerset, where the child killer Sidney Cooke had been staying.

Avon and Somerset Police refused to confirm or deny whether the figure who was covered in a blanket was the paedophile.

They said Cooke would spend the night in a West Country police station but gave no other details.

The 71-year-old has seen protests wherever he has gone since being released from Wandsworth prison two weeks ago.

Cooke has said he fears he could attack again and agreed to wear a electronic tag before leaving jail.

But a series of communities have stage vigilante-style protests and parents have promised to go on "hounding" him.

Long-term residence remains unclear

Following newspaper reports saying Cooke was in their town, Yeovil residents took to the streets around the police station.

Newspapers are on Cooke's trail

The Sun said he was staying there on his way to a bail hostel in Bristol.

A spokesman for the Avon and Somerset force said: "We cannot confirm that Sidney Cooke has left Yeovil police station because we did not confirm that he was there in the first place.

"All we can say is that Mr Cooke will be spending the night in an Avon and Somerset Police station, posing no threat to anyone."

The force's Chief Inspector, Colin Benson, said earlier that Cooke's long-term residence was still under consideration.

He added: "Public safety is paramount and if Mr Cooke was to take up residence in any area the police would consider full public notification."

But mother-of-two, Heather Smith, 45, from Yeovil, expressed the feelings of many who vowed to force Cooke out of the community.

"We will hound him," she said. "It is vital that we know where he is."

Cooke was found guilty of manslaughter after a paedophile gang he led killed teenage runaway Jason Swift.