A young couple on a romantic picnic in a field were interrupted by the sight of a naked IT worker trying to have sex with sheep and cows, a court heard today.

Paul Lovell, 61, was in a field next to Tottenham's new training centre in Enfield as he tried to make a cow perform a sex act on him.

Sniggering could be heard from the jury panel while details of Lovell's alleged offences were described at Wood Green Crown Court.

'I well understand that there are aspects of it [this case] that are unusual and amusing,' said Judge James Patrick.

'If you do find the case particularly funny, if you can try to get over your laughter over lunch that would be great.'

Prosecutor Robert Hutchinson told the court: 'September 4 last year was a fine enough day for a young couple to go and have a picnic together in the woods.

'The Crown say is that those people - called Lawrence Stephen and Natasha Brennan walked from Whitewebbs Lane.

'This area is a green oasis between suburbs and the M25, and it attracted Mr Stephen and Ms Brennan that fine afternoon.'

The couple strolled in 'broad daylight' through to a clearing where the vegetation was cut short for their picnic, the court heard.

'And having picnicked away, they were somewhat surprised to see a man they described as naked enter the field and that man was Mr Lovell,' Mr Hutchinson said.

'Over a period of time, he approached from some distance away to being considerably closer to Mr Stephen and Ms Brennan so that by the time he was at his closest he was perhaps no less than about 60 metres away.'

And what they saw was Lovell naked, carrying an orange Sainsburys' plastic bag, it was said.

'As Mr Stephen and Ms Brennan observed there was not only them and Mr Lovell in the field - there were also, round and about in the field, animals - there were cows and there were sheep,' he said.

'In this case the defendant tried to perform a sex act with the mouth of a cow.

'And he repeated this more than once with different cows.

‘He was unsuccessful. He then moved to another part of the field and tried his luck with some sheep.’

'The witnesses saw him trying to encourage - using gestures- the sheep towards his groin area. ‘

'And indeed he took hold of the sheep in order to do so, so that to both witnesses the sexual intent was very obvious.

'There was no doubt that what they were witnessing was sexual in its nature and both of them were again disgusted and appalled by what they saw,' said Mr Hutchinson.

Related stories

'Mr Lovell tried to approach the rear of the sheep.

'Mr Stephen and Ms Brennan saw him attempt to make a penetrative motion, thrusting towards the sheep again and again. It would appear in both of those cases he was unsuccessful in achieving his goal.

'The sheep, it is said, did not remain static.'

Lovell then lay down in the field and pulled his shorts up, the court heard.

But as another unsuspecting sheep approached, the witnesses took photos of Lovell allegedly starting to remove his shorts again.

'He was interested in sheep sexually - as he had been in the cows,' said Mr Hutchinson.

The shocked and disgusted couple rang 999 and Lovell was found in the field near Archers Wood, Enfield, north London, by the police and taken to Edmonton police station.

He refused to answer questions at the police station and was a 'wall of silence', the court heard.

Lovell denies one charge of trying to commit sexual acts with animals in a public place.

Lovell of Magpie Close, Enfield, is on bail on condition he does not return to Whitewebbs Lane or Archers Wood in Enfield.

The hearing continues.