ON-THE-RUN paedophile Roger Gardener has travelled back and forth between Britain and his Irish lair, the detectives hunting him believe.

The man described by police as "dangerous to children" skipped bail after he is alleged to have orchestrated an arson attack on his own home three years ago yesterday - allegedly in order to gain sympathy from a judge in an indecent assault case.

The hunt for convicted pervert Gardener, aged 59, formerly of High Street, Fleur-de-Lys, near Blackwood, has frustrated Gwent Police detectives for more than two years since he absconded to the Republic of Ireland on the eve of his trial in May 2001.

He is wanted for conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life at the house he shared with his wife, Margaret Gardener, in High Street, on August 17, 2000.

Now Detective Sergeant Dave Ransome and Detective Constable Clive Morgan, who are hunting Gardener, say they believe Gardener has travelled back to Britain on several occasions.

And the detectives are appealing for the public to help them catch him.

DS Ransome said: "There is a distinct probability he comes back and fore from Ireland. I would say his base is in Ireland, because it's his safe ground.

"We believe he may come back for visits - all the people he knows are on the mainland.

"The last unconfirmed sighting we have of Gardener was in the Cardiff area about six months-plus ago."

Over the past two years, unconfirmed sightings of him have been reported from Harrogate, Yorkshire, to Torquay, in Devon.

DS Ransome said all Gardener has to do is "jump on a ferry" because there is no passport control between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

The detectives say they had concrete proof Gardener was in the republic when he absconded, but were unable to enter the country to get him because of obstructive red tape.

Eire is not a signatory of the European Extradition Treaty, and they were faced with a bureaucratic nightmare of not being allowed to search for him or even gain the co-operation of the Garda - the republic's police force - to help them.

A formality DS Ransome and DC Morgan thought would take a matter of days has now dragged on for more than two years.

But they say the end to the red tape is in sight.

He added: "The problem we've got now is the time lapse, and we really need somebody to pinpoint him. We are hopeful somebody will give us a call because someone knows where he is."

And DS Ransome remains confident they will get their man.

He said: "Gardener is dangerous to children, his conviction tells you that and he depends on persuasion."

DC Morgan said: "He is a plausible character, and is quite talkative."