Overview

• Avon and Somerset Police said they acted extremely rapidly after fresh reports in Bleadon and arrested landscape gardener Joshua Hunt in 2023.
• A judge accepted police evidence of sexual motivation and placed Hunt on the sex offender register for five years, running to November 2028.
• The sexual risk order prohibits public crawling, wriggling or writhing while wearing full-body coverings or masks, with breaches risking imprisonment.
• A 2018 Freedom of Information request revealed earlier police call logs describing a man in a gimp-style outfit, reflecting years of reported sightings.
• Residents recount lasting fear and lifestyle changes, including counselling for one victim, as Hunt’s lawyer said the order was not contested.