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'It was so distressing'

Loose Women’s Linda Robson and Nadia Sawalha open up about harrowing paedophile investigation that left them ‘physically sick’

Linda and Nadia have been badly affected by the investigation

LOOSE Women’s Linda Robson and Nadia Sawalha have opened up about their experience of tracking down a paedophile with the group Internet Interceptors.

The pair took part in a special investigation for the ITV daytime show and were left haunted by their experience.

 Nadia Sawalha said she found the experience haunting
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Nadia Sawalha said she found the experience hauntingCredit: ITV

Linda explained: “It was so distressing, all over Christmas I kept thinking about it.”

Together Linda and Nadia met a woman called Julie who spends her life tracking down paedophiles who target young children on mobile phones.

Nadia said: “It was really scary, I was scared for the woman who does it.

 The investigation is part of a series Loose Women are starting to run
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The investigation is part of a series Loose Women are starting to runCredit: ITV

“She set it up a year ago and so far she’s had 12 convictions.

“I felt a bit haunted for her. She’s given herself a huge responsibility.

During their investigation the pair watched a video which the predator believed he was sending to a nine-year-old girl but was instead a decoy profile set up to catch the perverts.

Nadia said: “We had to turn it off after ten seconds, but the few frames we saw shook us to our core.”

 Nadia and Linda are shown how the group pose as children to trap predators online
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Nadia and Linda are shown how the group pose as children to trap predators onlineCredit: ITV

She added: “It disturbed me for days ­afterwards. And if it did that to me, what would it do to a child?

“The guy titled it, ‘Never been seen before’, so a little girl would have had no idea what to expect. She would have been confronted by the most horrific porn.”

 Nadia revealed her horror after watching an explicit clip one man sent to them which he believed he was sending to a nine-year-old
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Nadia revealed her horror after watching an explicit clip one man sent to them which he believed he was sending to a nine-year-oldCredit: ITV

Nadia and Linda also saw messages from paedophiles who believed they were grooming young girls.

The predators offered to buy them phones, encouraged them to send naked images before threatening them if they didn’t comply.

Nadia said: “It was heartbreaking because two of the decoys were 13 and nine, just like my daughters. I just wanted to rush home and give them a big hug.”

 The Loose Women pair struggle to cope after seeing messages sent to the decoy accounts
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The Loose Women pair struggle to cope after seeing messages sent to the decoy accountsCredit: ITV

 

Nadia added: “What Julie does is really dangerous. Since meeting her I’d drill into every app on my children’s phones and ask, is it safe?”

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