A group of self-styled paedophile hunters have vowed to carry on seeking out child abusers after a jury cleared them of all charges following stings on two men.

The group, called Predator Exposure, “overstepped the mark” when they confronted the men after they had taken part in online chats with group members posing as teenagers, prosecutors told Leeds crown court.

Six of the group went on trial accused of charges including false imprisonment and common assault. After an eight-day trial and just over a day of jury deliberations, they were cleared of all charges.

Shouts of “Yes!” came from the public gallery where the defendants’ friends and family were seated. Outside on the court steps, the defendants and supporters wiped away tears and exchanged hugs and high fives.

Philip Hoban, 43, who set up the group, lit a thick cigar, to cheers from supporters, and said: “This is just the first start and we’ll be back hunting very soon. Tune in, people.” The group said they would be releasing a full statement on their website later.

Jurors heard that group members detained and verbally abused two men and used unnecessary force against one, who was allegedly put in a headlock and dragged out of a shop against his will. The defendants claimed they were making lawful citizen’s arrests.

In August 2018, four of the defendants went to a home in Normanton, West Yorkshire, to confront a man who had talked online with a Predator Exposure member posing as a 14-year-old, the court heard.

The man, who had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as a child and is believed to be on the autistic spectrum, was prevented from leaving his back garden and going inside his home to get his medication, and was left “extremely scared and upset”.

Another man was confronted by five of the defendants in the Chapel Allerton area of Leeds in January this year. He was chased to a nearby shop where some members of the group attempted to drag him outside.

Both of the men who were confronted were arrested on suspicion of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. Prosecutors accepted that the conversations between the men and the decoys did amount to criminal offences, but neither of the men were charged.

Hoban, from Beeston in Leeds, and his son Jordan McDonald, 19, from the Farnley area of the city, were found not guilty of two counts of false imprisonment and one of common assault.

Jordan Plain, 26, from Leeds, and Dean Walls, 52, from Moortown, Leeds, were found not guilty of one count of false imprisonment and one of common assault.

Kelly Meadows, 40, from Leeds, was found not guilty of two counts of false imprisonment, and Christine James-Roberts, 60, from Headingley, Leeds, was found not guilty of one charge of false imprisonment.