A SERIAL flasher who exposed himself in front of a woman and her child in a city centre street has been jailed.

John Bustin was spotted by the woman – who was with her 11-year-old son – standing in a bicycle shed with no trousers and exposing himself on April 23.

Prosecutor Cathy Olliver told Oxford Crown Court on Tuesday when 50-year-old Bustin saw the mum in Paradise Street he greeted her with a "hello".

Ms Olliver said the woman tried to get her son to look the other way to stop him seeing Bustin exposing himself.

She added: "She was locking the parking gate when she saw Mr Bustin standing in the bicycle shed – it was apparent to her that he didn't have any trousers on.

"Her 11-year-old son was in the car nearest Mr Bustin and she urged her son to look the other way.

"Mr Bustin looked in her direction and acknowledged her presence with a 'hello'.

"It made her feel very anxious and uncomfortable and she was pretty shocked by his behaviour."

The court heard how Bustin, of Abingdon Road, Oxford, had been spotted by another man looking out of the window.

Ms Olliver said the man filmed Bustin and passed the footage to the police when they arrived.

But Ms Olliver told the court after being arrested, Bustin was caught on CCTV committing indecent behaviour in his cell at Abingdon Police Station.

Bustin admitted exposure and indecent behaviour at a police station when he appeared before magistrates last month.

The court heard he had 30 convictions for 54 previous offences including 29 previous sexual offences going back to the 1980s.

Gordana Turudija-Austin, defending, said her client had been drinking that day and had smoked some spice – a synthetic drug similar to cannabis.

She told the court Bustin could not remember the incident, but has had problems with alcohol for more than 30 years.

Ms Turudija-Austin added: "He tells me most of his offending is alcohol-related.

"In relation to his indecent exposure he says this is something he doesn't plan at all – he says he cannot in fact explain why he does it.

"It's not something he enjoys doing.

"He is really upset and regrets doing these things and would like to apologise to all those he offended."

But Recorder Alistair Wright said he was going to go above the sentencing guidelines and impose a longer prison sentence than 26 weeks because of Bustin's criminal record.

Jailing Bustin for 16 months he said: "Only an immediate custodial sentence may be justified.

"Aggravating features are the presence of others, in particular a child, being close to residential premises, being under the influence of alcohol and the litany of previous convictions against you.

"In reality all of those factors take the offence well outside the guidelines."

Recorder Wright also imposed a criminal behaviour order banning Bustin from all the public parks and play areas within the Oxford ring-road.