POLICE were today keeping a close eye on a paedophile who is luring children by dressing as Father Christmas.

The man has been seen in Eastbourne town centre on a number of occasions over the past week.

Eastbourne police have discovered the man has had convictions for offences on children.

But police have admitted they are powerless to intervene as the man has not broken any laws and is not a registered sex offender.

PC John Devlin, of Eastbourne Police community problem-solving team, was the first to notice the suspect Santa.

He said: "He's been in the town playing the accordion dressed as Father Christmas with another male.

"With the way he is dressed there are quite a few children who are attracted to him.

"We decided to run a check on him and found he has known offences, but because he is not on the register it has made matters a bit more difficult."

PC Devlin said officers were now keeping a close watch on the man, who has not been named, using both patrols and town centre CCTV cameras.

The man, aged in his forties,

has mainly been seen in the Terminus Road area, Eastbourne's busiest shopping street and

currently packed with Christmas shoppers.

PC Devlin said: "We know this man's movements, we know where he lives and we have photos of him. We will continue to monitor the situation.

"In the meantime, we would ask parents to be vigilant as we always do but the last thing we want to

do is put any people off seeing Santa."

Eastbourne town centre manager Elliot Cairnes said there is nothing that can be done to outlaw specific street entertainers.

He said: "The problem we have is that there is no regulations that cover busking unless they are breaking a particular bylaw like making too much noise or trying to sell something.

"But I think it would be very foolish if this man was to try something in the town centre as the area is closely monitored on CCTV."

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