A couple who were caught having noisy sex against the walls of Preston Minster have been told to stay indoors after 7pm.

Matthew Dusic, 36, and Hayley Williams, 47, were spotted near the buttresses at the minster, metres away from revellers enjoying a Friday night out in the city centre on October 4.

When they were confronted by a police officer, Dusic initially denied what he was doing – as he was in a relationship with another woman at the time.

Williams, however, confessed to their amorous activity.

Dusic, of Bootle Street, Preston, and Williams, of Oxford Street, Preston, pleaded guilty to outraging public decency and appeared side by side in the dock at Preston Magistrates’ Court.

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Prosecutor Dylan Wagg said: “The incident took place at Preston Minster, in Church Street, Preston.

“It is a large church in the centre of Preston, opposite the Twelve Tellers – a popular location.

“Pedestrians pass by all the time.

“The witness, Mr Hilton, said he saw the defendants engaging in sexual intercourse in the church grounds, on one of the walls of Preston Minster.

“Mr Hilton was outraged by this conduct and called the police accordingly.

“DC Hargreaves attended the scene. There were a large number of people out at this stage.

“He saw the defendants sat against the church. There was a group of young females sat in the churchyard. It is unknown whether they saw anything but they were present in the area.”

They were arrested at 7.30pm.

Steven Scott, defending, said: “The offence itself leaves me with very little to say. It is not the kind of offence you can really mitigate.”

He said both defendants were struggling with substance misuse and were no longer in a relationship with each other.

“They are both thoroughly ashamed of what they did.

“Both recognise their behaviour was inappropriate in a public place – both under the influence of substances at the time, which may have affected their decision.”

Williams had been through a period of instability after becoming homeless when she left an abusive relationship, the court heard.

Magistrates made the pair subject to an eight week curfew to run from 7pm till 7am and ordered them to engage with services to address their substance misuse issues.