York man wrongly branded a sex offender in Facebook post

It followed an incident in a car park in Holgate Road on August 7 when officers received a report of man in some bushes using binoculars.

Officers attended the scene and established that it was a man with learning disabilities who was trainspotting.

"While the member of the public was right to call the police about suspicious behaviour, uploading a photo of him and wrongly calling him a sex offender was extremely irresponsible.

"The incident has caused extreme distress to the man and his family, and officers have now launched an investigation into malicious communication.

"Our advice to members of the public is to pause before you post and think of the potential consequences of uploading spurious and malicious messages and the devastating effect it can have on its victims."