A masked man who terrorised women in Somerset while dressed in black clothes, and told police “I am not a gimp”, has been found guilty of deliberately causing distress.

Joshua Hunt, 32, insisted he had not worn a gimp suit, did not own one and that he only wore dark clothing to cover himself in mud.

But on Friday he was found guilty at Bristol Magistrates’ Court of two offences under the Public Order Act of causing intentional harassment, alarm or distress. He was fined £100 and ordered to pay £200 compensation to each of his victims.

Hunt, a self-employed gardener, stood trial at Bristol Magistrates Court over incidents on May 7 and May 9 this year in Bleadon, near Weston-super-Mare.

In the first incident, motorist Lucy Lodge said she was driving home in Bleadon when she saw a masked individual “writhing and crawling as if in a military fashion.”