A PERVERT terrorised up to 90 victims by making sickening calls from public phone boxes during a year-long campaign, a court heard.

Ian George Parry, 47, told some of his victims he had their family captive or would rape them if they did not carry out his sordid requests.

Parry, who is married with children, made one victim talk to him in sexual terms and even forced a terrified 16-year-old boy to go to a supermarket wearing his mother's clothes.

He told police that he made the calls out of compulsion, got sexual gratification and could not stop despite knowing he should not being doing it, Burnley magistrates heard yesterday.

Factory worker Parry, of Pennine Road, Bacup, targeted victims across East Lancashire, making calls from phone boxes in his home town, Blackburn, Haslingden, Nelson and Rochdale.

The court was told he had left a "trail of psychological damage" among his victims.

They were targeted randomly from the telephone book or selected after he read about them in newspaper articles.

Speaking after the case, police said Parry had been caught due to "top detective work" which had involved undercover surveillance of phone boxes.

Parry was arrested on Tuesday in a phone box in Rochdale.

Yesterday, making his first appearance at court, he pleaded guilty to eight counts of assault causing actual bodily harm and was committed in custody to the crown court for sentence next month.

Police said there could be up to 90 victims, the court was told.

Parry is now facing jail.

After the case, Chief superintendent Neil Smith said: "The arrest was made as a result of top detective work.

"We had an investigation team using varying tactics and had officers monitoring the phones boxes where he was actually arrested while making a malicious call.

"The offences were at the extreme end of harassment. The extent of his crimes were terrifying for his victims.

"There might still be other offences that are put to him at a later date as the investigation is still on-going."

Carl Gaffney, prosecuting, told the court Parry had phoned people who had no connection to him.

They were targeted because of their ages, vulnerability or because of the jobs they did.

He had made threats and demands, asking them to say sexual things or act in a certain way.

Mr Gaffney said the nature of the calls was incredibly serious and distressing and went beyond crank telephone calls.

He said Parry claimed to one victim he had kidnapped a member of their family, was a member of gang which raped women and would use a muscle relaxant and rape a member of their family. Another was asked to write and read out a "whole plethora" of sexually explicit words.

The prosecutor said on April 17 Parry called the 16-year-old at his home. He told the teenager if he wanted his mother back he had to put on her underwear.

The boy was ordered to tell the caller whether his mother's underwear was silk or lace and what type it was.

He was then told to stand in the window wearing it.

The youth did as he was told and was then ordered to put his own clothes back on, take his mother's clothes to a local supermarket and stand outside wearing them.

Parry also telephoned a girl working at a local recruitment agency and ordered her to repeat a number of phrases such as "I will be a good girl from now on." The victim was told if she didn't comply the caller would go round and rape her.

District Judge Peter Ward said the offences were serious because of the harmful effects.

Parry had no previous convictions.

Barbara Booth, defending, said Parry was clearly remorseful and that he was fully aware of the seriousness of the offences.

The defendant was terrified at the prospect of going to prison, she said.

Mrs Booth said that Parry would say he had been brought up sharp and that remand in custody had "smacked him right between the eyes."

The defendant's family had not abandoned him and he wished to salvage his life with them which was hanging by a thread, Mrs Booth said.