A PENSIONER caught molesting a pig at an inner-city farm admitted he was "very naughty".

The 72-year-old was spotted by a mother and daughter with his hand up the backside of a quarter-ton eight-year-old sow.

Thomas Leatham, of Wilmont Street, Woolwich, admitted outraging public decency by committing a lewd act on August 12 last year.

On March 23, Southwark Crown Court heard how officers arrived to see Leatham standing at the rear of the pig, naked from the waist down, thrusting backwards and forwards.

After putting his clothes on he told officers: "I've been very naughty. I've been with the animal."

Police later discovered a tub of Vaseline in the area and a vet confirmed the animal had been interfered with sexually.

DNA evidence also proved Leatham had been in direct contact with the beast at Stepping Stones Farm, in Stepney High Street.

The pensioner, who has a wife in her thirties, admitted having his hand in the pig, but denied having intercourse with it. He told a psychiatrist: "I was frustrated and I wasn't thinking right. The demon that was in me took hold of me."

Judge Rodney Mckinnon sentenced Leatham to 100 hours of community punishment saying he spared him jail on account of his age and because he is seeking treatment.