Harry Potter actor Nicholas Read admits exposing self at arcade

Nicholas Read said he was drunk and thought the arcade game was a urinal

An actor who appeared in the Harry Potter and Star Wars films has admitted exposing himself at a seaside arcade.

Nicholas Read, 48, was dressed as a jockey when he pulled his trousers down in front of a penny push machine at the amusement emporium.

Lincoln Magistrates' Court was told he was drunk and thought the 2p slot machine was a urinal.

He was given a 12-month community order and a curfew after pleading guilty to outraging public decency.

The court heard Read, who played a goblin in the Harry Potter franchise and an Ewok in the Return of the Jedi, had been hired by a stag party.

He was filmed dropping his trousers and exposing his buttocks at the Cashcade amusement arcade on Sea Lane, Ingoldmells, on 2 March.

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Within a few seconds, a member of staff is seen approaching Read and asking him to leave.

He then pulls his trousers up and starts to walk out of the shot.

The video, shared on Facebook alongside a warning to business owners in the area, was seen by Read's ex-wife.

She contacted him, the court heard, and Read said he had been "too drunk" to remember what happened.

The actor, from Cheadle, Staffordshire, had been struggling for mainstream work and was hired by the stag party for the weekend, the court heard.

Magistrates were told Read's career was going through a rough patch due to previous offences, including exposing himself to a teenage girl on a train in 2010.

In that case he was found guilty of performing a sex act under cover of a juggler's hat.

Philippa Chatterton, in mitigation, said Read had shown "genuine remorse" for what happened.

She said he admitted having an alcohol problem and said he had now quit doing events where drink was involved.