A student was left shocked after spotting a man sitting in his car "panting and grunting" while carrying out a sex act in his car near a Tyneside park.

Ian McKie, who has a history of similar offending, parked up near Heaton Park, Heaton, Newcastle, with his window down. When the woman walked past, she saw he had no clothes on his lower body and he continued what he was doing while looking her in the eye.

Now the 55-year-old, Ousterley Terrace, Stanley, County Durham, who has previously been banned from part of Durham for similar behaviour, has been jailed for his fourth similar conviction.

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Newcastle Crown Court heard it was at 2.19pm one afternoon in February when the university student was walking on Heaton Park View, towards Heaton Park, when she walked past McKie's Ford Fiesta. Joe Culley, prosecuting, said: "She describes the male making panting and grunting noises to the volume of regular conversation.

"She could see he was not wearing trousers or underwear. They could have been pulled all the way down but she couldn't see it. He was vigorously masturbating and continued to do so while looking directly at her.

"There were children in a nearby park and it was February half-term and in the middle of the afternoon." McKie was identified through the car, which the victim took a photograph of.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said she was upset and said the incident was "horrible" and believed his intention was "to make me feel distressed for his own gratification" and made eye contact during the offence. She added that it was an area where she had previously felt safe and enjoyed.

The court heard McKie has three previous convictions for similar offences. In 1993 he was sentenced for indecent exposure and in 2005 and 2016 he was convicted of outraging public decency involving offences of committing the same sex act in public in Durham. He had previously been banned from part of Durham in a restraining order as a result of that.

He pleaded guilty to outraging public decency in relation to the latest offence and was locked up for eight months. Judge Christopher Prince said McKie has fantasies about have sex with a female who has seen him carrying out a sex act in public.

The judge added: "You must understand conduct like this is serious. It may be non contact offending but it still causes distress. This is your fourth conviction for such offending. If you are terrified of going to custody, you are not so terrified that it's stopped you offending."

Brian Hegarty, defending, said McKie is a hard-working family man who has struggled with his mental health and feelings of isolation in his marriage and more generally. Mr Hegarty added that he has now been kicked out by his partner and was terrified about going to prison.