A disgraced gardening expert and TV presenter in the UK who set up a hidden camera to film women using a bathroom has been jailed 12 months.

Stephen Brookes, 55, was also ordered to register as a sex offender for seven years after a court heard that his "vile and repulsive" actions had left his victims feeling violated and disgusted - and his career in ruins.

Photo: Press Association

Brookes, who admitted charges of voyeurism last month, has worked with several broadcasters on numerous shows, including a gardening phone-in on BBC local radio in the Coventry and Warwickshire area.

Warwick Crown Court was told that the 55-year-old concealed a motion-sensitive camera inside an air freshener, allowing him to watch seven young women "in real time" as he recorded more than 180 videos over almost a year.

The married grandfather was arrested last September after one of his victims discovered the camera and alerted police.

Sentencing Brookes, Judge Sylvia de Bertodano said references put before the court, including some from charity groups, painted a picture of a public-spirited family man.

Addressing Brookes' background and his offending, the judge told him: "You have made a significant contribution, both to the horticultural industry and to the charitable causes you have supported.

"The fact that you are a man who is in the public eye clearly makes your fall from grace that much more spectacular.

You were intervening on a daily basis and moving the position of the camera and maximising what you could see

"What I have to deal with is these criminal offences - which are a completely different side of your character and one that is unrecognisable to those who know and love you."

"There was really significant planning. You were intervening on a daily basis and moving the position of the camera and maximising what you could see."

Photo: Press Association

"There was a link between the camera and your phone so you could watch in real time and there were photos taken from the videos which had been zoomed in on, showing you had been looking at close-ups."

"It is aggravated by the length of time over which these images were made and by the fact there were seven different victims, all of whom were young women."

"I know you are sorry but it's difficult to have much discount (to the sentence) for remorse when the offences took place over such a long period without you stopping by yourself."

The judge said: "We are all entitled to privacy - it's a pretty basic human right. And what you did was a gross invasion of the privacy of seven young women, of whom you were old enough to be their father."

Offering mitigation for Brookes before he was jailed, defence lawyer Heidi Kubik said he had been a key figure in the Stratford-in-Bloom project and had undertaken charity work for a children's hospice.

Brookes's career was in "absolute tatters" and he had been identified as someone who could be vulnerable in jail due to his high profile, Ms Kubik said.

Victim impact statements were presented to the court, including one from a woman who said: "After learning of the true extent of what has happened and for how long it has been happening, I feel devastated."