A group of worried Bovey Tracey mothers are furious after a convicted paedophile was allowed to return to his home which overlooks the playground of their children's school.

The parents have launched a Facebook campaign to get 42-year-old Stephen Manley evicted from his mother's home in the town.

They are worried he poses a danger to their children because he has been convicted and is awaiting sentence for making, possessing and distributing sex abuse images of boys.

Manley's bedroom overlooks Bovey Tracey Primary School and he lives just five minutes from Bullens Field, where scores of boys play football every day.

The mothers sent a letter to Judge Graham Cottle at Exeter Crown Court yesterday (thurs) when Manley was due to be sentenced.

The judge told the court that he agreed with the letter and believes Manley should be forced to move but allowed him to carry on living there while a probation report is prepared.

Manley, of Priory, Bovey Tracey, admitted five counts of making, six of possessing and one of distributing indecent images of boys aged 12 to 16.

The judge imposed a curfew which only allows him to leave the house between 10 am and 2pm to ensure that he does not have contact with children coming or going to school. The ruling has enraged parents who fear their children are still at risk.

Mum Nicky Weston, aged 35, who has a five-year-old boy at the school, said: 'We want him out of there. He should have gone to prison instead of home.

'We are very angry he has been allowed back there. There are a lot of kids in the area and his room overlooks the school.

'We want to see him put away and we don't want him ever to be allowed back. It is very mush a family type of town and there are so many children around.'

Mum Angie Francis, aged 37, who has a 14-year-old son, said: 'We feel we have been let down by the system. My son play football on the fields near his home and there is nothing to stop him going down there and looking at the boys.'

The mothers have also written to the housing association which owns his mother's house and they have sent a letter warning she could face eviction unless he moves out.

The parents have organised themselves through a Facebook group called The Concerned Mums of Bovey Tracey which has allowed them to share their concern.

Judge Cottle said he was very impressed with the letter they sent him and agreed Manley should not be living so close to the school. He said: 'I have received a letter from a group of concerned mothers. According to the letter he is living in his elderly mother's house which is very close to the primary school.

'It is not in the least surprising to hear they are concerned. He is living uncomfortably close. We need to look at what proposals there are to deal with that very risky situation.

'He denies he has a sexual interest in children, which is an unpromising start. He appears to be in denial. He is minimising the offences while living on the edge of a primary school. You can understand the concerns.

'I don't know what plans the Multi Agency Public Protection Authority (MAPPA) have for this case. I am sure the parents would be reassured if they knew he was to be very closely supervised.

'He should not be living at that address because it is too close to the school. I am going to adjourn the case to the probation service can advise me on MAPPA's attitude to this man and how they manage him. Alternative accommodation must be sought.

'He needs to look again at his response to his offending.

'The letter from the concerned mothers mentions MAPPA and is a very reasonable and considered response. It would appear he has a sexual interest in teenaged boys.'

David Gittins, prosecuting, said Manley was found with 45 images or movies of boys on his phone, CD roms, and hidden in a locked trunk. He told police some had been sent them by friends to his phone and he had failed to delete them.

Mr Gittins said Manley has a previous conviction for sending obscene messages by phone, for which he was fined £75 in 2006 by Southampton Magistrates.

Martin Kenny, mitigating, said Manley accepted he will have to move out of his mother's house to prevent her from being convicted.

He said he has already been affected by the Facebook campaign run by the mothers and as a result feels himself to be a prisoner inside the house.