A former Crystal Palace striker who confessed to masturbating in front of a 16-year-old girl in Hillingdon was given a 12-month Community Order at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court today.

Neil Shipperley, 45, exposed his penis to the girl and her ‘disgusted’ mother after driving up to them in his van and winding down the window.

Sarah O’Kane, mitigating for the ex-Premier League star, said: "Everything came to a crescendo on the day in question. This was, he thinks on reflection, a cry for help."

Prosecutor Shaan Sethi told the court that the victims had almost thanked Shipperley, initially thinking he had stopped to let them cross the road.

"They then noticed he was holding his penis in his hand and staring directly at them," Mr Sethi said.

The mother said in a victim impact statement that she believes Shipperley’s aim was: ‘To intimidate us, to violate us, to shock us and to scare us’.

"Some people may see flashers as pests or a nuisance to society,” she said.

“My view of Neil Shipperley is as a predator.”

Shipperley ‘expressed anguish, embarrassment, shame, but above all remorse’ the court was told.

He must undergo a 20-day period of ‘rehabilitation’ as part of the community order and is subject to a five-year sexual offences notification requirement order and charges totalling £375.

In his 15-year footballing career Shipperley also played for Chelsea, Wimbledon, Nottingham Forest and Southampton.