On the Paulsgrove estate in Portsmouth yesterday, residents were demanding an end to the "witch hunt" that has seen five innocent families driven out of their homes by an angry mob that has accused them of harbouring paedophiles.
For seven nights, anti-paedophile protesters on the estate have roamed the streets looking for the homes of people they believe have committed sex offences. They have burned cars and smashed windows as they worked their way through a list of 20 alleged sex offenders living on the estate as part of their campaign demanding the removal of all sex offenders living in Paulsgrove.
Yesterday, before talks with Hampshire police and representatives from Portsmouth City Council, the residents agreed to suspend their protests until Monday. After more than an hour of talks, the city council announced a "significant step forward" had been agreed.
The residents' representatives agreed to hand over their list to the council on Monday, subject to the agreement of the wider community in Paulsgrove. The city council said it would rehouse anyone on the list who wanted to move out of the area.
The compromise was welcomed by the parents of the murdered schoolgirl, Sarah Payne, whose death sparked the News of the World's "name and shame" campaign identifying convicted paedophiles. Sara and Michael Payne said they understood "the fear and pure frustration" of the protesters, but agreed the protest should end.
The suspension made little difference to Claire Fletcher (13) and her friend, Kerry O'Brien (13), who were in no mood to end their participation in the protests, as they chased each other around a park in Paulsgrove and called friends on a mobile phone.
Claire said she had taken part in the protests every night from last Friday until Wednesday night and admitted at first she didn't know why she was there. She said: "My dad was going to the protest and asked me if I wanted to come along. I didn't know what it was about at the beginning. It looked like a bit of fun." Her friend, Kerry, said she wanted the protest to continue because "they are just disgusting" and she did not want to live next to paedophiles. "It's disgusting and they're living all around here," she said.
On the Paulsgrove estate, where residents say they have received anonymous letters asking them to join the protests armed with "paedophile posters and a picnic", some residents have already deserted the campaign. They have complained that the list of 20 alleged paedophiles does not exist.
One young mother, Ms Jackie Rampton, pulled out of the protest after she asked to see the list. She was told it could not be found. "No one could come up with it and I felt ashamed of myself because some of the homes we were going to were innocent," she said.
Neighbours of two of the families targeted by the protesters said they were frightened of speaking out against the protesters for fear of reprisals.
One woman who did not want to be named said: "I think they've all gone crazy. It's really got out of control. I knew two of the families and one of the men went away to prison for a few years, but I don't know what for. I hope this is the end of the protests. I don't want to get involved because I want to live here afterwards."