Nearly half of paedophiles found guilty of grooming a child online before trying to meet them for sex are let off jail by 'lenient' judges, new figures show.

Criminals who have been spared time behind bars include a 56-year-old man who attempted to meet who he thought was a 15-year-old girl for sex before being arrested by police, who then found 1,673 indecent images of children at his home.

He was among 56% of those convicted under the charge of attempting to meet a child following grooming to dodge prison in 2016, compared to 33% in 2015 and 57% in 2014.

Over the three years, 88 paedophiles – 49 per cent - were spared an immediate jail term, versus 91 who went straight behind bars, according to a Freedom of Information request by MailOnline.

Dark Justice, a two-man operation based in Newcastle that has caught dozens of paedophiles by posing as children online, insisted ‘every’ child groomer should go to jail.

‘These lenient sentences are simply not a deterrent - when paedophiles see that there is just a 50-50 chance of going to prison after being caught they think it is worth taking the risk,’ the group told MailOnline.

‘These sick people found guilty of grooming intended to rape their child victim, and were more than happy to destroy their lives. They need to be rehabilitated, and the best place to do that is behind bars.

'People who commit benefit fraud or deal cannabis get years in prison but if someone wants to rape a child they tell the judge they’re a good guy and have had a hard life so get let off.’