A MAN was subjected to a hostage ordeal at the hands of a teenager who had a hatred of paedophiles.

Daryl Smeatham, 17, kept his middle-aged victim tied to a headboard and threatened to cut his head off after accusing him of interfering with children.

Newcastle Crown Court heard yesterday how Smeatham said he would pour petrol over the man and set him on fire during the attack at the victim's home in Peterlee, County Durham, on November 22.

The man, who has special needs, has no history of sex offending and has never been convicted of a sexually related offence.

Stanley Anderson, prosecuting, told the court: "Smeatham believed that his victim was a paedophile, or had been in the past.

"He pointed a knife at him and threatened to pour petrol over him, set fire to him and cut his head off."

Mr Anderson told the court how Smeatham, who had a can of petrol with him, used a knife to cut the wires to an alarm which would have notified the warden at the sheltered accommodation flat.

He then tied the man to a headboard in the bedroom, where he stayed until early the next morning.

The court heard that after the ordeal, Smeatham ransacked the flat and made off with electrical goods and belongings.

Smeatham was arrested and told police that his victim was a "nonce and deserved to be tortured".

The court heard that Smeatham, of Easington Colliery, had an obsession with paedophiles since he witnessed a girl being raped when he was a child.

Judge Beatrice Bolton sentenced him to three years detention, saying: "You are, at the moment, a young man who presents a danger to a large number of members of the public.

"There is too much risk in releasing you into the community."