DNA recovered from the scene by police

A MAN has admitted having sex with a horse in East Devon and could face jail.

Derek Woods, 26, pleaded guilty to the charge and two more of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, when he appeared at Central Devon Magistrates Court today (Thursday, December 30).

Magistrates heard the incidents took place between December 2009 and August of this year at a paddock and stable near Clyst St George on the A3052 which links Sidmouth to Exeter.

Magistrates said they felt they did not have the power to sentence Woods, who currently lives in Alphington, Exeter.

The court heard that East Devon police found him in a paddock in August. He will be sentenced at Exeter Crown Court in January.

Detectives and the stable owner, employed various tactics to catch Woods, whose DNA was recovered from the scene.

The court heard that CCTV images showed Woods committing a depraved act on a protected horse.