A MAN seen performing oral sex on a horse must now suffer the stigma of public derision, a court heard.

Kevin Long, 34, was arrested after a woman walking her dog saw him in the act in a field at South Church, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, in December.

Durham Crown Court heard she became suspicious when she saw a car parked haphazardly on a grass verge. Then she saw the man under a horse, performing the act.

David Crook, prosecuting, said that she challenged him and he replied: "I was just being nice to it."

He ran off but she alerted police, who arrested him nearby, 15 minutes later.

Initially, Long claimed he was relieving himself in the field and, "fell under the horse".

But when he was told of the woman's observations, he said he was "just joking".

Mr Crook said police found a video at his home containing scenes of bestiality.

In a subsequent police interview, Long said he had drunk six or seven pints of stout and, driving home, thought he saw a police car so pulled up and hid behind the horse in the field. He said the horse bit him, so he responded by biting its penis.

In a third interview, when the woman's statement was put to him, he made no reply.

Long, of The Oval, West Cornforth, County Durham, admitted committing an act outraging public decency.

David Lamb said in mitigation: "He's a man wracked with guilt and remorse. His name has been plastered all over the papers.

"He will have to walk the streets of County Durham with people laughing and sniggering, saying, 'Look, there's the man who performed oral sex on a horse'."

Judge Richard Lowden said: "You have pleaded guilty to what is a repugnant act. It truly outrages public decency.

"Something about you and what you did requires help and correction."

He imposed a two-year community rehabilitation order, with a special probation supervision element, and ordered Long to pay £300 costs.