A convicted sex offender who performed a sexual act at a North Yorkshire poolside has been sentenced.

Former teacher Brian Edmund Heywood covered his actions with a towel but they were noticed and police were called, Leeds Crown Court heard.

Judge Neil Clark told the court Heywood had been at the pool site all day and was wearing “unusual swimwear” so may have planned his actions. He had also travelled “some distance” from his home to get there.

Heywood, 64, of Weydale Avenue, Scarborough, denied outraging public decency but was convicted by a jury at Leeds Crown Court last month.

He was given a 12-month community order with 25 days’ rehabilitative activities.

He has previously been banned from wearing shorts on trains when he was convicted of five offences of outraging public decency on trains by positioning himself near women passengers so that they couldn’t avoid seeing what he was doing and couldn’t walk away from it. On one day, he had covered more than 300 miles travelling back and forward on a series of trains.

He was also convicted of sexually assaulting a woman on a train. He was jailed at Nottingham Crown Court for three years and was on prison licence at the time he carried out the North Yorkshire offence.

Following his arrest he was recalled to prison for 76 days, Leeds Crown Court heard.

For Heywood, Glenn Parsons said there had been a delay of 18 months between the incident at the pool and Heywood being charged. There were no children present when he committed the offence.

Heywood cared for his mother, who had health problems.

Mr Parsons said Heywood had not offended since the pool incident in November 2021.

The judge read a letter from the mother, one from the defendant and a pre-sentence report prepared by probation officers.

He said he took into account the delay between the offence and Heywood being charged and his health problems including cluster migraines, agoraphobia and anxiety.

He also took into account Heywood’s previous convictions, which also include an indecent assault about 20 years ago.

The court heard Heywood is semi-retired. He lives on a teacher’s pension and does some writing.

He is currently on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years following his sentencing at Nottingham Crown Court in 2019.