A CONVICTED sex offender who was allowed to referee children's football matches has been banned from entering any parks.

Steven Newton Callaghan, of Blackburn, was served with a sex offender's order by Blackburn magistrates at the request of Lancashire's chief constable Pauline Clare.

The court was told that a psychiatric assessment of Callaghan said he 'represented a risk'.

Police said they had been made aware of Callaghan's activities which gave them cause for concern.

The 33-year-old had been a referee in charge of children and youth fixtures in the county and had unsupervised access to children, making overnight stays at an undisclosed address, the court order said.

It also said he had collected children from school.

The Football Association, which registers all referees, today admitted it relies on a system of self-declaration when accepting applications.

Applicants must fill in a form answering yes or no to criminal convictions which is then sent back to the FA .

An FA spokesman said checks will only be run if the person has answered yes.

He added: "We are trying to move towards a vetting system in conjunction with the Criminal Records Bureau and are currently running a pilot project for staff working on the FA Summer Camps this year.

"There are around 500,000 people registered with the FA, which is a huge amount, and we rely on the applicants to declare their criminal records because of the logistics involved in checking them all."

The spokesman added that Callaghan would be struck off. The order, imposed by district judge Hugh Edwards, banned Callaghan from entering play areas, allowing anybody under 18 into his home; taking up any activity, paid, voluntary or recreational, which would bring him into repeated contact with anybody under 18.

Callaghan must also tell police and get their approval if he moves homes.

Detective Bob Eastwood, of Blackburn Police, welcomed the order. He said: "We are very pleased that the judge has passed this order. It is another tool available to the police in controlling these sort of people."

The Lancashire FA, which registered Callaghan, was unavailable for comment.

Sex offender orders are served to restrict the movements of offenders in a bid to protect the public. Any breach can result in up to five years in prison or a fine.

Daniel King, defending, told Blackburn magistrates Callaghan had sought his advice as soon as he became aware that the police were applying for the order following complaints from members of the public.

He said: "My instructions from him have always been that he has done nothing that would constitute a threat to children but my client accepts there are grounds for this order to be made.

He said a psychiatric assessment had determined that Callaghan represented a risk and he had a previous conviction.

He added: "His view, supported by our advice, was that the court would be likely to make the order and at that point he agreed to consent to the order."