AN ONLINE Kelty predator who had been placed in a sheltered housing complex in Cardenden has been moved after residents feared for their safety.

Pensioner Ronald Myers, 69, who was snared after sending naked pictures of himself to a '14-year-old girl', left the Ore Valley complex on Friday afternoon after a meeting between officials and residents.

There were fears that vigilantes might have targeted the building following the backlash of his court appearance at Dunfermline Sheriff Court earlier this month.

Councillor Rosemary Liewald told the Press: "Towards the end of the week, a collective meeting was held by myself and the other ward councillors with the housing service, staff at the complex and criminal justice officers.

"The upshot is that Mr Myers is no longer a resident there.

"There were fears there was going to be possible escalation with media coverage of the whole incident but, as a result of the action that took place last Friday, that is clearly now not the case.

"We are happy that this has come to a satisfactory conclusion for everybody involved.

"It has caused a level of stress and concern for families and they just wanted to return to normal."

Ore Valley, which is managed by Fife Council, is predominately used for housing for elderly and vulnerable adults.

However, the local authority said they could not comment on individual cases.

Myers sent an image of his penis to the 'teenage girl', 'Shazza', saying: “That is what makes babies” and added: “You can see the real thing when you get here babe.”

However, in fact, the girl was a decoy profile set up by paedophile-hunters who then turned up at Myers’ door in Kelty and confronted him on a live stream via Facebook.

Myers admitted that between August 15-21 at his then home in Kelty, he sent messages of a sexual nature to a person he believed was under the age of 16, attempted to cause them to look at a sexual image and, via online applications, sent still images and video images of a sexual nature.

In court, Myers' solicitor said that he had had to move out of Kelty since the incident. He said his client was a retired bus driver and had lived alone since being divorced in 1982, and was flattered the girl seemed to be attracted to him.

He is awaiting sentencing but had been placed on the sex offenders’ register with immediate effect.

A spokesperson for Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) said: "MAPPA are in place to ensure that registered sex offenders are effectively managed.

"The management of sex offenders is treated with the highest priority and all the relevant partner agencies continue to take robust steps to protect the public."