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A yob who tormented a young woman on a night out by repeatedly brandishing his “extremely realistic” penis key ring has been sentenced - without the need for an embarrassing identity parade.

Witnesses to Dean Middlemiss’ drunken antics - leading to his arrest by PC Geoff Bone in Berwick-upon-Tweed on November 30 last year - thought it was the 26-year-old’s real genitalia on show, leading to a charge of exposure which the defendant denied.

Prosecutors at Newcastle Crown Court instead accepted an admission to outraging public decency by Middlemiss, of Sallyport, Berwick.

Prosecutor Rod Hunt said: “The defendant’s movements with the penis were so realistic that we were at a loss on whether it was his penis or an artificial one.

“As a possible trial drew near we decided to accept an additional charge of outraging public decency, and this has avoided a potential identity parade. Nobody wanted that.”

The female victims were aged in their early 20s.

Mr Hunt said: “They were met on arrival by the defendant, who they did not know, running around the street with a false penis attached to his groin. It was extremely realistic.

“He approached their taxi and tried to put the penis through the taxi window and pretend to urinate. They were annoyed at this point and told him to go away.

“But he and his friends followed them into the Brown Bear pub.”

The defendant, who was drunk, continued to show off with the key ring, the court heard on Friday.

He knocked a drink from the hand of a 20-year-old, then struck her painfully in the face, for which he admitted common assault.

Middlemiss and his friends then fought with arresting officers, including Pc Bone.

The court heard Middlemiss had a history of convictions related to alcohol, including drink driving, being drunk and disorderly and inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Jonathan Devlin, mitigating, said his client “badly regrets his stupid drunken behaviour” and “wouldn’t have behaved in this way if he were sober.”

Judge Deborah Sherwin, who said Middlemiss and his friends behaved like “a load of drunken yobs”, jailed him for six months for outraging public decency, with three months jail to run concurrent, for assault.

Both terms were suspended for a year.

Middlemiss was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work, pay £250 compensation and £80 court costs.