A NOTORIOUS paedophile is likely to be sent back to serve his sentence in the north of England after going on the run, according to police.

Child molester Joshua Karney, 30, of Barnoldswick, became one of the most wanted men in the UK when he went missing in 2005 while on licence for indecently assaulting a child.

The hunt intensified when it was discovered he was arrested for being drunk and disorderly by South Yorkshire Police in Barnsley in November but released by accident when officers did not realise his identity.

But he was re-arrested in Hove, Sussex, on Thursday following a tip-off and taken back into custody.

A specialist Sussex Police detective unit detained Karney in Western Road near the border of Brighton and Hove just before 6pm.

He gave officers a false name, Michael Hennessy, but was identified using fingerprints.

It is not clear yet where Karney will be held or whether he will serve out the rest of his sentence behind bars.

The force said that it is most likely he will be held at a local jail in Sussex and eventually transferred to a prison in Lancashire.

It is not yet known how long this will take or whether Karney will face further charges for absconding from the probation hostel while on licence.

DI Paul Furnell, who led the capture, said: "My team were superb. This dangerous individual uses false details regularly but we identified him.

"It is an excellent result for both Sussex Police, our colleagues elsewhere in the country and the public at large."

Det Insp Jim Elston, of Lancashire Constabulary's Public Protection Unit, said: "Following a new media appeal with the publication of the recent photograph, information was received from the public which led officers from Sussex police to an address in Hove where Karney was arrested for a recall to prison.

"He will in due course be interviewed in respect of the Lancashire offences and in turn by officers who have interest in him from other forces."

A police source said: "He is being reintroduced into the prison system to serve the remainder of his prison sentence.

"He is expected to be transferred to a prison in Lancashire to be managed by Lancashire probation officers."

Karney was convicted with trying to have sex with a 14-year-old boy in Barnoldswick in 2002 and jailed for 15 months, but failed to report to a probation hostel when released on licence.

He was re-arrested in South Yorkshire in November for drunken behaviour but was released after being issued with a fixed penalty notice having given a false name.

Police later realised their mistake and released the picture taken of him following his arrest this week.

Karney has appeared on the BBC's Crimewatch and is on the Child Exploitation and Online Protection's "most wanted" website.

He is thought to have used a string of aliases including Mark Moffitt, Devon Daniels, Aiden or Aaron Wiely, Kieran or Arran O'Shea and James O'Shaun.

Sussex police are investigating whether he has committed any further offences and have asked people with information to contact them on 0845 6070999 or Crimestoppers confidentially on 0800 555111.