Prosecutor Edward Franklin said: "On the morning of January 18 this year the prosecution case is that Mr Waise approached a number of children as they made their way to school.

"He did so several times, pretending to be a police officer from time to time, he tried to use force and intimidating behaviour to stop the children in their journey and divert them to accompany him.

"Fortunately those children got away and many of them continued to school where they reported the incidents, others told their parents."

Waise began his crime-spree by offering a ten-year-old boy cannabis.

Mr Franklin added: "The boy said 'no' and walked faster to the bus stop and Mr Waise pursued. The boy thought Mr Waise was going to grab him.

"Mr Waise asked 'what school do you go to?' But the boy lied and said he went to secondary school because he didn't want him knowing what school he went to.

"He then noticed Mr Waise had given up trying to follow him."

Later on Waise went on to kidnap a schoolgirl.

Mr Franklin said: "The defendant approached the 11-year-old girl and started addressing her.

"At first she thought he was a friendly stranger. He said he saw her mother drop her off and that her mother had texted him asking him to give her breakfast.

"He put his arm around her and said he was a police officer and she should come to his house for breakfast and to look at some photos about an incident in connection with a young girl and that her mother would be present.

"The girl knew a real police officer wouldn't ask that and she pretended a group across the road were her friends.

"As she started to walk away he grabbed her bag and coat and said he wasn't going to hurt her. She managed to run away and lose herself in the crowd.

"The prosecution say that Mr Waise tried to divert the girl away from her journey to school to make her go with him.

"This is not a case of trying to get anybody into a van, but he did attempt to take someone against their will or carry them off through force or fraud, and that is the definition of kidnap."