A man who was found pleasuring himself in a muckspreader at a Redruth farm has been sent to prison.

David Roy Truscott, 40, of Pengegon Parc, Camborne, was given a 16-week prison sentence last week after pleading guilty to the harassment of Clive Roth and his family at Woodbury Farm, Tolgus Mount.

Magistrates in Truro were told that between December 23, 2005 and August 22 this year 40-year-old Truscott had masturbated in the muck spreader while he was fully aware this caused the family distress.

In a previous case in 2004 Truscott pleaded guilty to burglary and three offences of arson at the same farm, when the court was told how he liked to strip down to his waist in manure for sexual reasons.

Police caught Truscott at the farm at Tolgus Mount, near to where he used to live, wearing shiny red shorts and rubber gloves.

At the time magistrates were told that the farmer first became suspicious that something odd was going on when he found a water trough filled with manure and tissues scattered around.

He then saw the shape of what appeared to be someone’s bottom and two hand prints where manure had been piled up. On another occasion it was obvious someone had been playing in manure and tissues and plastic gloves were found nearby.

After catching Truscott at the farm, police searched his house and found women’s clothing, mainly underwear, with containers of liquid sludge and hard mud.

Truscott told the officers that he had 360 pairs of women’s knickers and he liked to sleep in women’s pyjamas. He had taken women’s clothing with him to the farm as part of his excitement. He was also convicted starting a fire which damaged farm buildings and killed a cow.

Despite magistrates being told at the time that this was a case they would be “unlikely to come across again,” last Tuesday Truscott found himself back in court for the same behaviour.