A man has been arrested after a regional daily investigation exposed vloggers filming intoxicated women and selling the ‘highly sexualised’ footage.

A series of videos depicting ‘Manchester nightlife’ and showing women on nights out were filmed by vloggers and then posted to TikTok and YouTube without permission.

Now following an investigation by MEN reporter Nicole Wooton-Cane, a man has been arrested on suspicion of harassment and voyeurism.

Her investigation revealed how the vloggers were posting more explicit videos behind paywalls, with subscribers paying £13 a month for footage of “non consensual nudity and upskirting.”

Nicole passed the evidence onto police after discovering that one of the main vloggers was selling the videos, which were often highly sexualised and accompanied by misogynistic comments.

A 27-year-old man was subsequently arrested in Bradford, pictured below, in what is thought to be the first arrest of its kind.

Nicole also raised the issue with TikTok who removed the footage but similar footage was still available on YouTube.

The videos, which have racked up millions of views, have also been taken in London, Liverpool, and Leeds.

MEN editor Sarah Lester said: “Nicole has carried out a series of investigations on this subject over several years working closely with the MEN’s content desk. This was not a straight-forward inquiry and she has shown great persistence and determination to reveal this sinister trend with her work leading directly to the police investigation.

“Nicole’s brief is to focus on issues facing young women and this is a great example of how she is representing their interests.”

In a statement, Greater Manchester Police said: “This morning we’ve arrested a 27-year-old man in Bradford on suspicion of stalking and harassment, in connection with several reports of women being followed, filmed, and harassed in Manchester City Centre.

“This arrest is thought to be the first in the country linked with several viral videos on social media platforms appearing to have filmed women on nights out, some whilst in vulnerable positions.

“As well as the widely viewed videos posted publicly, through further investigation, we found more content locked under paywalled accounts which included footage of suspected non-consensual nudity and upskirting.

“After the issue was first brought to our attention, we made several appeals for anyone directly impacted by these videos to come forward. Many women did so, explaining the fear this had created for them, and the impact on their feeling of being safe whilst out at night.

“Over the past few months, our neighbourhood team have worked in close consultation with the CPS to understand what next steps we could take with the reports received.

“The videos in Manchester were primarily filmed around the Peter Street and Deansgate areas.”

Chief Inspector Stephen Wiggins told the MEN: “We took the concerns of the public really seriously on this issue, and have worked hard with partners to assess the full circumstances and what courses of action were available to us. It is a very new and complex issue, but this is a significant development.

“Everyone has the right to feel safe as they enjoy a night out, and these videos have made people, particularly women, not feel like that, which we can’t tolerate.

“Filming in public is legal, however where this filming crosses the line into offences such as upskirting, stalking or harassment, it’s important that we don’t allow that behaviour.

“Every Friday and Saturday there are approximately 60 officers on patrol around our city centre hotspots, also with support from partners, charities, and volunteers. Collectively, we are all on the look out for any behaviour that appears predatory in nature, proactively challenging that behaviour and safeguarding anyone who is vulnerable.

“Particularly as we enter one of our busiest periods in the year, Christmas and New Year, I want to reassure the public that Manchester City Centre’s night life is safe, and they can expect us to take action against anyone who threatens that.

“We would continue to encourage anyone who has personally been impacted by the content within these videos to come forward to us, so we can record these reports and assist with our ongoing investigations. This can be done via our online reporting tool or by calling 101.”