A Royston factory worker who intentionally exposed his erect penis to a woman on two occasions was given a hefty financial penalty by magistrates yesterday.

Factory worker Seweryn Gawronski was found guilty of exposing his genitals to a woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in a Stevenage alleyway at about 2.20pm on April 18.

Passing sentence at Stevenage Magistrates’ Court, chairman of the bench Richard Cinammon said: “We have considered all the evidence presented today and find that you were drunk on the day in question while the injured party was sober and we do accept the injured party’s version of events that you twice exposed your penis and in doing so cause the injured party alarm and distress. Therefore we find you guilty of exposure.”

Shortly before exposing himself, Gawronski – of Abbots Grove in Stevenage – walked past the woman and down the alleyway towards Priory Dell.

Prosecutor Karen Boyes said: “At the end of the path she heard a man say ‘excuse me’. She looked to her left and saw the defendant no more than three feet away from her. She was wearing glasses and saw him clearly. He held his penis in his right hand which was erect because she said she couldn’t see a foreskin. He then walked away up Priory Dell towards a bush before coming back, again with his penis in his hand.

“She walked across the road to get away from him and phoned the police. She thought he was Polish because she recognised his accent. A white car then drove down the road towards the garages and the man shielded his penis with his other hand. He then approached the woman and said ‘I am sorry’ to which she replied ‘get away from me’.”

The police arrived a short time later and arrested Gawronski, who was sitting in a bus stop drinking more beer which he had just bought.

Recalling the experience, the woman said: “It is scary enough when someone comes up to you with their penis in their hand but when they come back it is even more scary because you do not know what they are going to do.”

On the day Gawronski had finished a night shift at a factory in Royston at 8am and spent two hours in the town drinking a beer before catching a train to Stevenage at about 11am.

When he arrived he went to a Polish shop in Stevenage town centre and bought three more strong Polish beers.

He drank these in the park next to the Stevenage Swimming Centre.

He then spent the next few hours walking around the area before coming across the victim.

In court he claimed that he had not had an erection on the day and went for a wee in the bush and turned around when he saw the woman.

He said: “I did not have any bad intentions. I feel ashamed that is why it is hard for me. I am sorry for the situation, for everything.”

Gawronksi previously spent 10 years lived in Northern Ireland and came to Stevenage seven months ago after the breakdown of his marriage. He admitted in court that he has had problems with alcohol and has worked since this happened to address this.

Before the magistrates retired Mr Cinammon asked Gawronski if he had a large penis. He replied: “I have a little bit more but I do not know. Do you need to know the size?”

Mr Cinammon replied: “No.”

Summing up, Mr Cinammon said: “We know that you are remorseful and hopefully you can move on. We know you have addressed your alcohol problems and this is important because this was behind this offence.”

Gawronski was fined £125, ordered to pay courts costs of £620 and a victim surcharge of £20, a criminal court charge of £1,000 and £50 compensation for the victim.

He was ordered to pay compensation within a week and the rest of the money at £10 a week.