A Youtuber said he had ‘no bad intentions’ after there were concerns of him filming outside mosques in Blackburn.
Kevin, who runs the YouTube channel Auditing Lancashire, said he creates videos 'filming the police, security, workplaces and the public' and did not think ‘this was a crime’.
Concerns were raised with people posting ‘warnings’ to others over his actions on social media.
The videos were posted on a YouTube account and also on Instagram.
Later, another man posted a video targeted an address in Blackburn.
Kevin later posted a public apology.
Speaking on Friday he said his intentions had been misconstrued and he had gone out to film at a mosque after learning security teams had been deployed at select locations following the summer's riots.
He said: “I had noticed security located at some masjids and wanted to know why security was situated at the masjids.
"I went to visit around six masjids to see if security was located at every masjid.
“When asking questions to the security I was respectful and spoke with respect, and also assured them that I wasn't there with any bad intentions.
“The security spoke with respect back and answered my questions which they did not have to.
“I thanked every security member that I spoke to and assured them all that I was just filming and there was nothing sinister about my visits.”
He said he also filmed a video of the old St Chad's church telling his subscribers what the building used to be used for.
He said: “I revealed it was abandoned for many years then saved and transferred into a masjid who had replaced the roof and saved the building.
“I actually started filming the old St Chad's church when nobody was there. Around five minutes later people arrived in a car to open the masjid to pray. I had a laugh with the guy after our interaction.
“The last one I did next to the old Oval world.”
He feels that posts were then shared on social media with fake reports of his intentions.
He said: “I understand the sensitively around the recent riots and can see how it must have looked to members of the Muslim community so I took all offending videos down.
“I basically took almost every video with a Muslim down even though I didn't have to as I honestly didn't do anything wrong but film in public and anywhere publicly available.”
He also said any issues with anyone had been settled.
On Wednesday police said they had been made aware of a video on social media of a man outside mosques in Blackburn.
A police spokesperson said: “We have spoken to members of the community who have raised concerns and we have given words of advice to the person who has filmed the videos.
“In a separate incident, we were called to reports of criminal damage at a property in Blackburn.
“An arrest was made. Subsequently, the complaint has been withdrawn and no further action will be taken in relation to this matter.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article