A SERIAL flasher from the Ramsbottom area has been jailed again after striking in three different towns in a matter of hours.

Richard Laurence Graham was told he had caused "significant trauma" to his victims, after incidents in Bury, Salford and Padiham on January 12 this year.

For Graham, of Bolton Road, Edenfield, it was his second jail sentence for indecent exposure in under a year.

The 30-year-old was also imprisoned last December at Burnley Crown Court for terrorising a schoolgirl in a similar fashion in Victoria Park, Haslingden, the previous May.

He was picked out on a video identity parade by the 12-year-old victim and police later found, via automatic number plate checks, his car had been in the vicinity around the time of the outrage. Graham had denied the offence but was convicted after a trial.

And it was Graham's third strike for 'flashing', after he was also convicted of another indecent exposure type offence in Rawtenstall town centre, dating back to July 2019.

He had started out by 'wolf-whistling' two girls, while driving a van along Bank Street. Later while they were on a bus he exposed himself to them.

Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard the victims in his latest series of offences were of a similar age, 12 to 14.

In the first incident at 3pm in Tottington he followed a 12-year-old girl and exposed himself before trying to push the girl down an alley, where she managed to escape.

The court heard that the second incident was in Salford at 5pm where a girl saw him "rubbing himself" from his car.

Later at around 7.40pm in Padiham he pulled over next to two 14-year-old girls and was seen committing a sex act.

Jailing him, Judge John Edwards said: “These offences cause significant trauma to the victims and huge distress to parents and family.”

Mr Graham was sentenced to a total of 15 months in prison and was placed once more on the sexual offenders list.

He is already the subject of a sexual harm prevention order.