A 33-year-old man from Veenendaal has been given 80 hours community service for secretly filming his young female neighbour for two years.

The court in Utrecht also ordered that the man undergo psychiatric treatment and pay the woman compensation.

The man filmed his victim’s bedroom window between September 2017 and June 2017 using a telephoto lens camera hidden in blankets which he hung outside.

The public prosecution department had demanded a one year jail term but the court ruled that this was not in order because the suspect was not guilty of assault or filming a minor.

The court also dismissed a claim by the defence that the women could have prevented the filming by hanging up curtains.