A MAN who exposed to a horse rider and assaulted a former girlfriend during a three-month period has been ordered to attend a sex offenders' programme.

Carl Denny, 26, of Cockpits, Marden, pleaded guilty at Maidstone Magistrates' Court to one count of indecently exposing himself twice to the rider in Staplehurst in September 2001 when he drove alongside her.

He also admitted one count of assault, causing actual bodily harm, to his ex-girlfriend in December 2001

The magistrates imposed a community service order with special conditions and ordered him to pay £100 compensation to his former girlfriend.

Defending, Nicholas Wilson, said the offence against his ex-girlfriend was "just a one-off flair up at a crisis point in their relationship.

Mr Wilson said Denny had found it hard to settle down after coming out of the Army after three years' service, much of it spent in Northern Ireland. He added: "These offences point to him being in need of help, not punishment."

Magistrates imposed a community rehabilitation order of three years for the charge of indecent exposure and ordered him to attend the sex offenders' programme as instructed by the Probation Service.

They imposed another order for three years to run concurrently for the charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, another order of one year to run concurrently for driving while uninsured and a fine of £50 for driving without an MOT.