A man stabbed himself in the throat after being confronted by paedophile hunters in Liverpool, it has emerged.
The distressing incident was filmed on Facebook Live but has since been removed.
Emergency services quickly descended on a car park where the incident took place and the injured man was taken to hospital, where he in a stable condition.
The site, located near Kirkby Police Station, has had a heavy police presence throughout this evening with a cordon in place.
Merseyside Police confirmed were called to the scene at around 5pm. A 55-year-old man from Kirkby was later arrested on suspicion of grooming a child under 14 and possession of a bladed article.
A still taken from the video of the incident, shortly before the man stabbed himself. The video has since been removed from facebook
A Merseyside Police spokesman said: ‘At around 5pm officers attended an incident near Kirkby Police Station where a man was detained.
‘The man was taken to hospital with serious injuries to his throat following the incident where he remains in a stable condition.
‘A 55-year-old man from Kirkby was later arrested on suspicion of grooming a child under 14 and possession of a bladed article.
Emergency services have descended en masse to a Liverpool car park where a man is believe to have stabbed himself in the throat
A section of St Chad’s Drive short stay car park in the city, near the police station, has been cordoned off.
‘An investigation is underway and a scene in place in the area whilst officers continue witness enquiries and examine CCTV footage.
‘Please be mindful that this is a live investigation and not to speculate about the circumstances of this incident as it could jeopardise our enquiries.
‘Please provide information on suspected sexual offences via the following channels: call 999 if a crime is in progress, call 101 to speak to specially trained operators, or pass information on via @MerPolCC on Twitter or ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ on Facebook.
‘You can also contact @CrimestoppersUK anonymously on 0800 555 111.’