A woman on her way to work at 7.35am was accosted by a man in Blackburn town centre.

The town's magistrates heard Raymund Varadi offered the woman £400 to have sex with him on December 28, 2022.

When she tried to run off he blocked her way and then exposed his genitals.

Varadi, 21, of Herschell Street, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to indecently exposing himself.

He was sentenced to 20 weeks in prison suspended for two years and ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work.

He was also ordered to complete 30 days Rehabilitation Activity Requirement which will include Horizon, a sexual offender programme.

He was ordered to pay £500 compensation to the victim and put on the Sex Offender Register for 10 years.

Passing sentence District Judge Alexandra Preston said Varadi had behaved in a "disgusting" manner and described him as a "menace" to women.

"The victim in this case must have been terrified by what happened," said District Judge Preston.

"Not only did you behave in the way described but you then pleaded not guilty and put her through the ordeal of having to give evidence at your trial.

"When you spoke to the Probation Service you continued to lie about what you had done and you showed no insight into your disgusting behaviour."

Joe Seale, prosecuting, said the victim was confronted by Varadi on Railway Road, Blackburn. He told her she was pretty, asked if she had a boyfriend and then offered her £400 to have sex with him.

"She started to run towards Morrisons to escape but he ran after her and blocked her path.

"It was at this point she saw he had his penis in his hands and his pants were down," said Mr Seale. "Thankfully she managed to get into Morrisons and locate a security guard."

Speaking through an interpreter, Varadi said he had nothing to add to what had been presented in the pre-sentence report prepared by the Probation Service.