THREE schoolgirls were frightened when they were accosted by a 26-year-old man who exposed himself and committed an indecent act in a Redditch subway.

They reported the incident to their teacher and police were able to arrest Darren Carroll through DNA evidence he had left at the scene, Worcester Crown Court was told.

Carroll, of Dagnell End road, Redditch, who pleaded guilty to an act of outraging public decency, was given a three-year community order with a condition he attends a community sex offender group work programme.

Charles Hamer, mitigating, said Carroll was sole carer for his 80-year-old grandfather, who was immobile and suffering from diabetes.

Carroll had been a cannabis user in the past but was now drug-free. He had a sense of shame about the offence.

Judge Toby Hooper QC said it was a "foul and disgusting act" carried out on December 14 and he hoped it would not have a harmful effect upon the children.