A MILITARY fanatic who repeatedly exposed himself and performed a sex act in front of his neighbour says he does not believe he caused his victim any distress.

Ken Ward, 67, harassed Mandy Dunford in the lanes and fields around their remote properties near Chop Gate, on the North York Moors for nine years.

He was finally jailed in 2011.

Speaking publicly for the first time since being released from prison, Ward said that while his past behaviour was "foolish" he did not believe he scared his neighbour by exposing himself to her.

He said: "The reason I showed myself and masturbated is I foolishly thought it would help to get her to move away quicker and we would get rid of her. It was a foolish notion and didn't work.

"I didn't upset her, does that look like a woman who is scared? My plan have worked if she was, she would have been gone if she was scared."

Probation restrictions mean Ward is currently not allowed to return to his cottage, however these will be lifted next year when his sentence ends.

Ms Dunford, 54, says she is terrified that Ward will return and the harassment will resume.

Ward told documentary makers for Channel 5 that he would probably not return to the cottage.

However, he added: "I might just for devilment keep the rent on and she will always be wondering if I am going back or not. If I am renting it she won't know if I am going back, that's my prerogative."

Ward was convicted of 11 counts of exposure and for three charges of possessing a prohibited firearm and a range of other firearm offences after police found illegal weapons when they searched his cottage.

Recalling the first time her neighbour exposed himself, Ms Dunford said: "I was just walking my dogs and got to the gate and glanced across. I saw Kenneth standing with wellies on, he dropped trousers over his wellies and pulled up his jumper to his armpits as if trying to show as much nudity as he could.

"He had binoculars in one hand and performing with the other. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, I was shocked. I thought, 'I can't have seen that, he must have been having a wee'. But men don't drop their trousers like that to have a wee."

Police have offered Ms Dunford £5,000 to improve security at her farm, advising her to install CCTV and create a fortified 'panic room' where she can hide in an emergency.

The Nightmare Neighbour Next Door is on Channel 5 Wednesdays at 8pm.