Image copyright Other Image caption From left to right: Richard Curtis, Tim Heron and George Keenan

Three men have been found guilty of attempting to intimidate a BBC journalist investigating so-called paedophile hunters.

George Keenan, Richard Curtis and Tim Heron were also convicted of disorderly behaviour and obstructing a road.

They were each given a three-month suspended prison sentence at Belfast Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

The charges against them related to a confrontation with BBC reporter Kevin Magee in February last year.

He encountered the men at a coffee shop on Botanic Avenue in south Belfast while making a news report on paedophile hunter groups operating in Northern Ireland.

Footage showed him being followed outside as he made his way to a car.

Appealing conviction

Keenan, 35, of Glenwood Court, Dunmurry; 33-year-old Curtis, from Albert Road in Carrickfergus; and Heron, 29, of Cloverhill Vale in Bangor all admitted charges of disorderly behaviour and obstruction of a road.

They contested a further allegation of attempting by force, threats or menaces to cause Mr Magee to refrain from questioning them, but were found guilty.

All three have lodged appeals against that conviction.