A 39-year-old Polish man was filmed while having intercourse with a horse in a field.

Blackburn magistrates heard Grzegorz Suliga was seen feeding horses and ‘rubbing them in an affectionate manner’ before he had sex with a brown horse and walked out of the field.

He was arrested two weeks later, sitting in the same field drinking beer with the horses around him.

Suliga, of Hollin Bridge Street, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to sexual penetration of a horse. He was remanded on bail for a pre-sentence report. He was put on the Sex Offender Register.

Catherine Allan, prosecuting, said a witness was sitting in the conservatory at the rear of his Oswald-twistle home when he saw a man acting suspiciously in the field.

“He watched the man approach a white horse and thought he might be interfering with it but couldn’t be sure,” said Miss Allan. “He then began photographing the male and at the same time rang the police.

“After having sex with the horse, he saw him pull up his trousers and walk off,” said Miss Allan.

Photographic evidence was handed to the police who launched an appeal through the Lancashire Telegraph to try to identify the offender.

Two weeks later police were contacted by another witness who thought that he had seen Suliga in the same field.

“They found Suliga sitting in the field with the horses having a beer,” said Miss Allan.

“The police showed him the pictures from the first incident and he put his head in his hands and started to cry.”

When he was interviewed by police Suliga said he had done it because he was drunk. He said he didn’t know it was an offence in this country although he knew it was an offence in Germany where he had previously lived.

Andrew Church-Taylor, defending, said Suliga had failed to turn up for his first court date because he was too ‘embarrassed and ashamed’.

“He came to court but was too frightened to walk up the steps,” said Mr Church-Taylor. “He has no previous convictions here, in his native Poland or in Germany where he has lived previously.”