A sex offender lied about his past history in order to get a job working as a kitchen porter at a north Norfolk hotel chain, a court heard.

Trevor Cator, 62, failed to declare his previous offending when he applied for the job working for Mackenzie Hotels, which runs the Sea Marge Hotel, in Overstrand and the Links Country Park Hotel in West Runton, Norwich Crown Court heard.

Richard Paterson, prosecuting, said Cator applied for the job in March, last year, when still subject to being registered as a sex offender, which was imposed back in 2016, when he was caught spying on two young girls while they were changing in a cubicle at a Hemsby holiday park.

Cator, also had exposed himself to a 41-year-old woman, who was out fishing on Filby Broad and Mr Paterson said there had also been police reports of him in the past loitering around women's toilet blocks and at campsites.

Mr Paterson said that when Cator's past convictions came to light he was immediately dismissed from his job and commented: 'Oh well, it was five years ago.'

Mr Paterson said that as a result of him not declaring his past convictions he had earned nearly £9,000 in the hotel job and also was in breach of his sexual harm prevention order by working at the hotels, where he could have come into contact with young members of staff and guests.

Mr Paterson said the hotel had been unaware of his past and said : 'Unwittingly they ended up employing a convicted sex offender.'

Cator, of Summerhouse Close, Cromer, admitted fraud and breaching his sexual harm prevention order.

Andrew Oliver, for Cator, said that he was in debt at the time and was desperate to earn extra cash.

'He accepts he had not made them aware of his previous conviction. He had little interaction with people that were there and by and large he kept himself to himself.'

Sentencing him, Judge Andrew Shaw imposed a 15 months jail sentence suspended for two years. and warned Cator that any breach would be reserved to him and said he would go straight to jail.