NORFOLK MAN ANDREW BIRD JAILED FOR UPSKIRTING CAMPAIGN TARGETING 16 WOMEN AND GIRLS

A sexual 'predator' used a mobile phone to taking intimate upskirting photos of unsuspecting women and girls in Norfolk pubs, a court has heard.Andrew Bird, 55, formerly of Trowse and now residing in Scotch Hill, Taverham, was accused of photographing or videoing his victims over a period of five years. He had targeted 16 victims, none of whom can be publicly identified, by taking pictures of their intimate areas using his mobile phone and other devices. Bird also employed a dog as a means to get pictures, either by taking photos when he bent down to stroke the animals or when his victims did so. Some victims were targeted in parks, others in private homes where he managed to plant recording devices.The court was told that Bird would hold his phone under tables and angle it upwards to capture images of women’s genitals, buttocks, and underwear. He also recorded teenage girls at various locations, including Trowse Common and opposite the White Horse pub at Trowse, with some victims being filmed while getting changed in their bedrooms or showering in a caravan. Police discovered the images after executing a search warrant at Bird’s home in 2023, where he had backed up images and videos to hard drives and seized several devices.Bird pleaded guilty to 41 offences, including three counts of voyeurism, 17 offences of upskirting or recording images under clothing without consent, 18 offences of attempted upskirting, and three offences of making indecent images of children. He has also requested that 20 additional offences, committed between 2018 and 2022, be considered, including outraging public decency and further attempted offences.Sentenced to 22 months in prison, Judge Jeremy Donne expressed that no woman was safe from Bird, stating: "You went nowhere without that mobile phone ready to take photographs. Bird knew what he was doing," he said. "Once he recorded images, he would download them onto hard drives for his own sexual gratification before deleting them." The judge highlighted that Bird's victims ranged from 12 years old to middle-aged women, all harmed by his deceitful actions.The victims’ statements reflected the profound trauma caused by Bird, including feelings of violation, trust betrayal, and enduring emotional damage. One mother described herself as 'devastated', while a teenage girl said she was 'shocked'. The court was told Bird had caused 'life-altering' suffering for multiple victims and had 'destroyed lives'.Due to his actions, Bird was subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years and placed on the sex offender register for 10 years. His guilty pleas earned him credit, and he admitted responsibility for his offences.