A 55-YEAR-old man stood in Blackburn’s Mall shopping centre urinating in full view of members of the public.

The town’s magistrates heard that David George Hoyle fell to the floor shouting abuse before being arrested.

Hoyle, of Woodside Road, Accrington, pleaded guilty to outraging public decency.

The magistrates initially said they were considering a custodial sentence but adjourned the case for a pre-sentence report.

Catherine Allan, prosecuting, said the incident took place at 4.20 pm outside BHS inside the Mall. “There were numerous shoppers, including children, in the centre at the time,” said Miss Allan.

She said Hoyle had been given a conditional discharge for being drunk and disorderly in November and a similar sentence when he appeared for the same offence on December 5.

“That was the date of the latest offence and it would appear that having been given a conditional discharge he has left court, got drunk and behaved in this manner,” said Miss Allan.

Gareth Price, defending, said: “He accepts he is an alcoholic and says he is drinking between two and three bottles of whisky a day.”

Mr Price said his client realised he had to do something to fix his problems and had been in touch with several organisations.