A SEX offender who toured clothes stores exposing himself to shop staff has been banned from York Designer Outlet for three years.

James Vincent stripped off in the changing rooms of six stores at the McArthur Glen shopping centre before calling out to unsuspecting shop assistants, York magistrates heard. When they arrived, as they thought, to deal with a routine request from a customer, he showed himself to them naked.

Kathryn Reeves, prosecuting, said he later told police he found it “exciting” to expose himself to the women staff and see their shock.

On some occasions he asked them to fetch him clothes from the shop displays and on one, when a staff member averted her eyes, he deliberately moved his body to encourage her to look at him.

Vincent was caught when security staff were alerted and he was arrested. By then he had shocked staff at six stores in two days.

Magistrates told him his behaviour was “unacceptable” and banned him from the shopping centre for three years.

They also ordered him to go on a sex offender’s treatment programme, undergo three years’ supervision by the probation service and do 150 hours’ unpaid work. He was put on the sex offender’s register for five years. He must pay £85 prosecution costs and a £60 statutory surcharge.

Vincent, of Main Street, Ryther, near Tadcaster, pleaded guilty to six charges of indecent exposure.

His solicitor Kevin Blount said: “He is embarrassed, he is humiliated, he is extremely remorseful.”

Vincent had not initially gone to the shopping centre to expose himself and the first incident had happened accidentally. But he got such a “rush” from the experience that he deliberately repeated it.

Since his arrest, he had sought help from his GP and elsewhere to stop him repeating his offences.

Ms Reeves said the first incident happened at 4.30pm on June 3 when Vincent exposed himself to staff at Joules when wearing just a pair of boxer shorts. Between 5.20pm and 6pm, he then showed himself completely naked to staff at Ralph Lauren, Kooples and Jaeger.

He returned the next day and exposed himself at Designer Store at 1.50pm and shortly afterwards at Mountain Warehouse.