Pervert who filmed neighbour with hidden camera banned from dating Andrew Thomas, 49, secretly filmed his neighbour after planting a hidden camera in a vase at the foot of her bed. He was caught after her daughter and partner found him lurking in her home Pics show flower vase spycam creep Andrew Thomas at Perth Sheriff Court.Story from Gordon Currie. (Image: (Image: Gordon Currie) ) A man who deviously hid a camera inside a vase to secretly film his neighbour in her bedroom has now been barred from entering into any new romantic relationships without first notifying social workers. Groundskeeper Andrew Thomas obsessively accumulated 40 hours of illicit recordings of his neighbour by surreptitiously entering her house numerous times over six months. ‌ Thomas, 49, sneakily positioned a mobile phone camera among artificial flowers after building rapport with the woman living in the same Perthshire village. Article continues below Sheriff Alison McKay placed Thomas on the Sex Offenders Register for five years and ordered him to serve 300 hours of community service without pay. Additionally, she assigned him two years under the watch of social services and set a six-month evening curfew at the Perth homeless unit where he is staying, since he lost his job following his offences. The sheriff expressed concern about the case, stating: "The circumstances of the offence are quite concerning and involve a violation of the complainer's home and her privacy. I'm not certain whether it's made better or worse that she was someone you befriended, rather than a stranger." ‌ "That is no excuse to explain his decision to place a recording device within the complainant's household. He misinterpreted a situation, but again, that's no excuse." A decade after committing a similar offence on an oil rig, Thomas was exposed when the victim, while adjusting her artificial flowers, stumbled upon the hidden device. The camera phone contained over 40 hours of footage capturing the 65-year-old woman in various states of undress. ‌ The devious groundskeeper's actions were further uncovered when he was caught lurking inside the woman's home by her daughter and partner. Thomas confessed his romantic feelings for the victim and admitted to secretly recording her at her Perthshire home from 29 January to 29 July 2023. Fiscal depute Rachel Hill told the court that the victim lived alone in a small village near Thomas's hometown of Pitlochry, describing it as "a small rural and close-knit community where most locals know one another," and noted that "many residents often leave their homes insecure. ‌ "She viewed the accused as a friend and they regularly socialised together over coffee, alcoholic drinks and dog walks." The court heard that in December 2022, Thomas confessed his "deeper romantic feelings towards her" which were not reciprocated. Ms Hill disclosed: "On July 29 2023, the complainer rearranged artificial flowers in a vase at the foot of her bed. "She noticed an object within the vase with a camera lens pointing towards her bed. Upon closer inspection, this turned out to be a mobile phone attached to the inside of the vase, connected to a power bank also inside the vase." ‌ The device was identified as a white iPhone, secured with Velcro and sticking out from the vase by about an inch. The fiscal depute revealed: "It could be seen from the screen that a video recording was taking place. It appeared to have been running for a period of 40 hours and 45 minutes." Upon inspection of the photo gallery by her daughter, 34 files were unearthed. "She could see from the thumbnails that there were intimate images of her mother in various stages of undress and also while naked," Ms Hill disclosed. The following day, Thomas surreptitiously entered the woman’s house just after she had left for church. ‌ Alert to his presence, her daughter and her partner, who were in the vicinity, observed him on the property. They found the back door slightly open and unlocked. Ms Hill exposed that a key, usually placed in the porch, had been used to gain access. Upon their entry, Thomas stepped out from a hallway door. Challenged about why he was there, he paused before alleging that he was searching for a hedge trimmer battery, which was sometimes kept inside, not in the garage as it typically would be. ‌ Thomas was told he had no right to be in the property and agreed to leave. Later that day, police visited his home. "He openly admitted the offence, stating he had entered the property whilst it was unlocked and placed the camera phone inside the vase. He said he had returned on numerous occasions to replace the battery but couldn't say how many times. "He confirmed that he had romantic feelings towards the complainer and said the recordings were captured for a sexual purpose. He admitted he had gone to the house that day to check the phone but had been interrupted." ‌ When cautioned and charged by the police, Thomas replied: "Guilty." Previously, in 2014, the former offshore worker was given an unpaid work order after being caught secretly filming a female colleague showering in her cabin on a North Sea rig. Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard how he had surreptitiously entered the woman's cabin and hid his mobile in her bathroom. The phone, concealed behind a white sheet of paper, was recording her as she showered until she spotted the hidden device. Article continues below After the court hearing, the victim shared her distress: "How could he do that to me? It makes my flesh creep to think what he might have done with the videos."