THE mothers of two girls who were left traumatised by a 67-year-old flasher have slammed the sentence given to him.

The nine and 10-year-old friends were playing behind the Premier store in Rosegrove when William James Andrews exposed himself to them, Burnley magistrates were told.

Now the pair, who cannot be named for legal reasons, are too scared to sleep in their own beds and their mothers fear they could be affected by the experience for the rest of their lives.

Bachelor Andrews, of Bowness Road, Padiham, had previously gained notoriety in the area as the ‘trick or treat flasher’, when he answered the door naked to children in November 2007.

He admitted an exposure charge in relation to the Rosegrove incident, on January 30. Magistrates sentenced him to a 12-month community order, with supervision by the probation service.

Andrews must also sign the sex offenders’ register for five years and pay the girls £100 each in compensation for the trauma they endured. But the younger girl’s mother said: “This is no consolation – we wanted him to go down, even if it was only for six months. I am shaking I am that angry.”

She said she had been forced to give up work to look after her daughter, who now refused to go to bed without her.

The second victim’s mother added: “This is going to be a lifelong problem now.

“The girls don’t really play out now, they just come around to our houses or the library.”

The mothers were also furious that the girls real names were read out in court as they fear Andrews may strike again.

And they have criticised the authorities after only learning about Andrews’ initial court appearance through the Lancashire Telegraph.

Prosecutor Alex Mann said that when Andrews exposed himself the girls ran off to find a policeman. The defendant was arrested shortly afterwards and confessed to what he had done.

Nick Dearing, defending, said: “The defendant is clearly an inadequate man who has been struggling since the death of his mother.”

He added Andrews had demonstrated remorse for his actions and realised he needed to seek help for his behaviour.