A MOTHER-OF TWO and her binge-drinking boyfriend have been banned from going out at night - after they were caught on camera having oral sex in a community post office.

The lewd encounter involving unemployed couple Antoinette Liddell, 34, and Matthew Farrell, 31, in McColl’s store on Bondgate, Ripon.

It was discovered after a late shift supervisor Sam Allen overheard the noises they were making behind the stacked shelves.

The Northern Echo: INCIDENT: McColl's shop and post office branch in Bondgate, Ripon

McColl's shop and post office branch in Bondgate, Ripon

Harrogate Magistrates Court heard when the pair left the shop at 9.20pm on July 30, Ms Allen checked the in-store CCTV and was horrified to discover footage of the sex act.

Katy Varlow, prosecuting, said: “The CCTV showed Mr Farrell with his trousers around his ankles and Miss Liddell performing oral sex on him.”

Liddell and Farrell, both of Ripon, stood with bowed heads as magistrates agreed footage from the shop, in the centre of a residential area, was too graphic to be shown in court.

Mrs Varlow added: “The member of staff was disgusted by what she saw. It was distressing.”

The court was told that it had been St Wilfrid’s Day - a day when Ripon residents celebrate the city’s patron saint - and that the couple had started drinking at noon.

Liddell had been dealing with emotional issues, while Farrell had drunk to excess.

In early August, as it emerged police were investigating the incident, regular customers of the community shop, which is understood to have a floor area of about 15m by 7m, spoke of their shock.

Magistrates heard the jobless pair had been in a relationship for nearly a year and feared being sent to prison over the offence.

Clive Farndon, mitigating, said: “Both Mr Farrell and Miss Liddell have said they feel deeply ashamed and embarrassed by their conduct on this occasion, so much so they have not touched a drop of alcohol since.”

Magistrates sentenced both Liddell and Farrell to a 12-month community order, including a 12-week 7am to 7pm curfew at their homes, and a £170 fine. Farrell was also told to attend a ten-day rehabilitation course.