POLICE and probation officers helped move one of Britain's most notorious paedophiles into a housing association home near several schools, it emerged last night.

Residents in Abingdon have signed a petition to get rid of Robert Excell - deported from Australia back to Britain in 2005 - since he moved in late last year. One woman was fined last week following a disturbance in the street.

Excell's housing association home is at the rear of school playing fields, and children regularly walk past it on a short cut from their homes to school.

Excell can live where he chooses and last year left a privately rented home in East Hanney.

He then went to the Vale of White Horse District Council and asked for a house. He was allocated the current property as a temporary home by Oxford Citizens Housing Association after discussions with police, probation, the council and OCHA.

Michele Elliott, head of child protection charity Kidscape, said: "It defies all common sense to place someone like this, who has committed a string of serious offences against young people, in the middle of a housing estate surrounded by families.

"The Mappa officials should find another place for him to live which is more suitable and away from kids. I'm sure they won't be volunteering for him to come and live next door."

Mother-of-two Marisha Treloar, 32, a neighbour of Excell, added: "It's horrifying that the authorities thought it was OK to put him here, even if it was on a temporary basis.

"We were told he would be moving five or six months ago but he is still here.

"It's not right for him to be living on an estate full of children, close to local schools."

Yesterday, officials said the police and probation service, under Mappa rules, had assessed the risk and cleared it. As part of the process local schools were told what was happening. Phil Hardy, head of housing for Oxford Citizens Housing Association, said the home was allocated to Excell after the Vale of White Horse District Council and OCHA were asked to provide a list of suitable properties.

He added: "We asked Mappa if, taking into consideration the offences, and the general risk, is the location suitable?

"There was a clear and strong indication that the location was suitable, and we went ahead on that basis."

Vale spokesman Nikki Malin added: "We were approached by the individual, and because he met the criteria he was housed."

Det Chief Insp Tim Price, head of Thames Valley Police's public protection unit, insisted police and probation had been responsible allowing the move.

He added: "The Mappa panel does consider factors like (schools), but there are very few locations where there are no schools or no access to where young people may congregate." He said there were no imminent plans to relocate Excell.

Excell, who abused four boys in Australia, is not on licence and has never committed a crime in the UK.

There have been no substantiated complaints against him since he returned to Britain. He is on the sex offenders' register.