A FORMER Parcel Force driver has expressed his “enormous shame and regret” after performing a sex act in a letterbox of a vacant house in Monea on a number of occasions over a six-month period, Fermanagh Magistrates Court has heard.

David Camblin (52), of The Mount, Tandragee, County Armagh, pleaded guilty to three counts of damaging a door and floor on dates between February 1 and August 12, 2016.

The court heard that, on August 15 last year, the injured party informed police that he was getting work done at the home of his late mother at Dairies Road, Monea.

The man told police that his suspicions were raised after observing a “puddle” on the floor just inside the front door of the house.

He spoke to the workmen, who ruled out any leaks at the property.

Suspecting that somebody may have been urinating, the injured party had installed a CCTV camera to identify the culprit.

He told officers that, on August 9, 2016, he had once again found urine in the hall.

Checking the CCTV footage, he saw a Parcel Force van pulling up outside the house at around 1pm. A male got out of the vehicle and then walked around the property.

The man in the footage then removed his penis from his trousers and placed it in the letterbox on the front door.

He appeared to masturbate through the letterbox.

The incident lasted a few minutes, before the man got back into the van and drove off.

Meanwhile, on August 12, a similar incident occurred. However, on this occasion, the man noticed the camera as he was carrying out the sex act.

He walked out of sight of the camera, which was then moved away from filming the front door and on to a wall instead.

The injured party passed on the CCTV footage to the police. Officers then contacted the defendant through Parcel Force.

On August 23, Camblin was interviewed and admitted that he was the man in the CCTV footage. He denied urinating, but admitted masturbating.

Describing the act as “spontaneous”, he could offer no other explanation.

A prosecutor told the court that the injured party estimated the cost of this incident to be £5,406, but deputy district judge Philip Mateer questioned this amount.

The property owner had not provided the court with any invoices.

He claimed that he had paid over £1,000 to replace the door, had employed the services of a cleaning doctor and that the CCTV had cost over £500 to install.

He further claimed that he had been unable to rent the property from February to October last year as a result of this “problem”, losing out on rent of £450 a month.

Defending solicitor, Rory Gillen, told the court that his client had worked for Parcel Force for 21 years and had never had any issues with the police before this incident.

Admitting that it was a “bizarre” case that fell outside sentencing guidelines, the solicitor said that Camblin had been married for 17 years.

Mr Gillen confirmed that the defendant had initially been suspended from work and later resigned. He is currently being supported financially by his wife.

The solicitor said that Camblin couldn’t really explain what had happened, but suggested that work-related stress may have been a “contributing factor”.

Referring to a pre-sentence report, Mr Gillen said that the defendant had been classed as posing a medium likelihood of re-offending, at the lowest end of the scale.

Deputy district judge, Philip Mateer, observed that the defendant was entitled to credit for entering guilty pleas, but told the court that the chances of him contesting the charges had been “remote”, given the CCTV evidence.

The judge said that, in the pre-sentence report, it was quite clear that Camblin had expressed “enormous shame and regret” for his behaviour, before adding that the probation service had tried to find out why he would act in such a “bizarre and distasteful fashion”.

Describing the set of circumstances as “simply inexplicable”, Mr Mateer noted that it was not a one-off, rather a “repeat gratification”.

The judge said that he did believe the defendant should pay compensation, but ruled that £500 was an appropriate figure.

Mr Matter said that, given the “unusual circumstances” of the criminal damage, it was important to place Camblin under the supervision of the Probation Service to make sure “nothing has been missed”.

The judge then imposed a Combination Order, consisting of 12 months on probation and 100 hours of community service.