Flasher in a frock seen masturbating near school gates

Barry Cooper, said to be ‘a well-known local character’ appeared before the court on a video link to HMP Leeds where he was remanded.

Cooper, 48, of Harewood Road, Keighley, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to two of-fences of exposure in the town on March 24.

The court heard that he was sentenced to a community order in January for exposing himself in a pub car park while wearing a coat but not much else.

One the date of the new offences, Cooper was seen by a bus driver on his route past Beckfoot Oakbank School.

He was spotted at 7am wearing what appeared to be a dress and exposing his genitals.

On his way back half an hour later, the driver saw Cooper again, this time with his hands on his exposed genitals and moving them around.

He called the police and Cooper was arrested soon afterwards.

He made no comment when questioned except to remark: “Well, there was nobody else around.”

Although he was near to the school entrance, it was conceded that no children were present at that time of the morning.

The court heard that Cooper had mental health problems and a community nurse would go to the prison to bring him home when he was released.

It would also be ensured that his home was secure and he had food in the house.

He had not offended in any way for twenty years before committing the last exposure matter.

The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Richard Mansell QC, said an aggravating feature of the case was that Cooper was in breach of a community order set to run until November for similar offending.

He was seen wearing a dress or a coat near to a school masturbating with his genitals exposed.

But he had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and he had not been fully compliant at the time with the taking of his medication.

He had already spent three months in custody on remand awaiting sentence.

Cooper was sentenced to a nine-month Mental Health Treatment Requirement to run alongside the existing community order.