THE perverted owner of a sunbed centre who secretly filmed seven unsuspecting women and a naked man after they had stripped off to top up their tans has been jailed for eight months.

James Sokolnicki was caught in the act on April 30 this year just six weeks after buying Bronzers suntan centre in Queen's Road, Westbourne.

Prosecuting at Bournemouth Crown Court, Robert Grey said Sokolnicki, 26, had been arrested after customer Barbara Roff finished her session and spotted a red light in the bin in her booth.

"When she moved tissues she saw a video camera inside a tissue box. She picked up the camera and confronted the defendant, demanding to know what was going on."

The court heard how Sokolnicki, of Wimborne Road, Poole, had taken the tape out of the camera.

"Miss Roff informed her boyfriend, who was in another cubicle, and there was an argument." Sokolnicki was detained after police were called.

Defending, Charles Ward-Jackson said his client was "misguided and paranoid," stressing that the motivation to install the hidden camera was "not primarily sexual".

He added that Sokolnicki had been suffering from "extreme stress" after receiving threats from other competitors and silent phone calls.

"He became convinced that his equipment was being damaged maliciously. He wanted proof. Going into the tanning booth was extremely ill-advised because it was prying on the privacy of customers.

"He does accept that, having obtained the film, he went on to obtain sexual gratification from it. He has suffered extreme embarrassment and recognises his reputation is ruined."

Sentencing Sokolnicki, who admitted two counts of voyeurism and asked for six similar offences to be taken into consideration, Judge John Beashel told him : "This was a serious invasion of privacy and breach of trust.

"People paid you to use your tanning facilities you abused your position by secretly filming them in a state of undress."

Sokolnicki was ordered to register as a sex offender for ten years.

Speaking after the case, Miss Roff, 21, said: "I'm pleased he has been locked up and justice has been done. He is a perverted, sick man.

"I am still paranoid about undressing even when I'm at home I close the curtains. I need to use a sunbed for health reasons; I suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) but I can't bring myself to go to a tanning centre.

"I never try anything on in shop fitting rooms anymore and I'm still having problems sleeping. Getting undressed fills me with dread."