A BINMAN who indecently exposed himself to 10 women has been jailed.

And the court was told that during one incident Vincent Mills, 40, had his 20-month-old son with him.

Mills, of Oswaldtwistle, was today starting a 10-month jail term after making crude suggestions and performing sex acts in front of victims aged between 16 and 84.

The Rossendale binman struck 10 times in just over a fortnight.

Seven of the incidents happened in just 90 minutes. Nine incidents were in Burnley and one was in Blackburn.

He struck by calling women over to him before exposing himself.

The former competitive body builder claimed to have committed the crime due to a heightened sex drive from taking anabolic steroids.

Burnley Crown Court was told his was finally arrested when his last victim took down his car registration number.

Mills, of Broadfield Road, Oswaldtwistle had earlier admitted 10 counts of exposure - seven on December 17, two on December 31, and one on January 3.

As well as being sent to prison, he was put on the sex offender's register for 10 years.

Sentencing, Judge Christopher Cornwall slammed Mills' behaviour as "outrageous", saying he had inflicted unhappiness and distress'.

One of the victims told police Mills had "stolen her spirit".

The judge said: "The court would fail in its public duty if it did not send you immediately to prison."

Sarah Statham, prosecuting, told the court the 16-year-old victim was in Raglan Road, Burnley, when Mills struck at 9.15am on Monday December 17.

Fifteen minutes later Mills exposed himself to another woman on the road saying: "Do you want some of this?"

The woman, said to be shaken and disgusted later picked Mills out in an identity parade.

The court heard the 16-year-old victim, who also identified him, was wary of lone males after the incident.

Miss Stratham said Mills exposed himself again at 9.45am near Coal Clough Lane and again at 9.50am.

One of his victims went into the local post office to report what had happened and, while there, another victim came in saying the same had happened to her.

One of the women, who thought Mills had been following her, said he had pretended to commit a sex act in front of her and told her: "You love it really".

The defendant's sixth victim that morning was an 84-year-old woman who had just got off a bus on Accrington Road at 10.25am.

She reported what had happened to the warden at her home.

The prosecutor said Mills also exposed himself at 10.45am near Montague Road, offering a woman money.

On December 31, another pensioner was walking near Coal Clough Lane when Mills stopped his car and committed a sex act.

At 10.50am the defendant exposed himself to a dog walker and when she called him a pervert, he offered her money, asking how much "to sort him out".

The final offence took place in Blackburn at 4.10pm on January 3 when the victim was walking home from Asda.

Mills stopped his car and committed a sex act while looking directly at her.

She noted his car registration number and immediatley alerted police.

The defendant was arrested in January 8 at his home and his vehicle seized.

John Maxwell, defending, said Mills had been having relationship difficulties at the time.

He said the defendant's partner was said to be supportive but that she did not condone his behaviour: "She believes he needs to look more closely at what he has done than he has so far."

Mr Maxwell said Mills had stopped taking steroids and was no longer part of that scene.

Mills was currently suspended from his job and would probably lose it, he said.