Beckham ex-aide admits spying

David Beckham's former right-hand man in Madrid walked free from court today after admitting attempting to spy on a woman from bushes outside her home.

Ex-footballer Andrew Bernal, 38, was spared jail but ordered to pay almost £9,000 after a court heard that he wanted to return to his native Australia to start a new life.

Bernal worked for a sports agency at the time of Beckham's multi-million transfer to Real Madrid and was closely associated with the England Captain at the time of the Rebecca Loos controversy.

Just weeks after being mentioned by Rebecca Loos in her News of the World claims of an affair with the England captain, Bernal, a former Reading FC player, was seen attempting to spy on a middle-aged woman from bushes outside her home in Reading, Berkshire.

He fled when police were called but officers found a collection of pornographic cuttings in the bushes where he had been and picked up a container of baby oil on the route he took.

Police said he told officers that he had just been out for a jog but got lost.
Reading Crown Court heard today that Bernal returned from Australia to plead guilty to a charge of attempted voyeurism at a hearing last month.

Today judge Christopher Critchlow ordered him to pay a fine of £5,000 as well as £3,000 to the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and prosecution costs of £794.

Philip Misner, defending, urged the judge not to jail Bernal because the subsequent listing on the Sex Offenders' Register could scupper his hopes of a career with the Australian Football Commission.

He told the court that Bernal had been suffering from stress and loneliness at the time of his "bizarre" behaviour.

He said: "I don't think anyone could understand, he or anyone else, why he did what he did, there is possibly pressure of depression, loneliness, emotional pressure, pressure of being pursued by the press, financial pressure.

"It exposed a flaw in his character, he was drinking more than he should have done.

"He has sought to look at his behaviour, he regards his behaviour as shameful."
The judge told Bernal that he accepted that he was ashamed of what he had done and took into account the fact that he had pleaded guilty to the crime and was of previous good character.

But he said: "It's a great shame to see somebody who has been a talented sportsman in a court for the first time pleading guilty to attempting to look at a woman when she is going about her business in the morning."

But he continued: "I accept that you were someone who was depressed for various reasons, various pressures of an unusual nature because of the sort of life you were living last year.

"That doesn't excuse what you did but it perhaps helps a court to understand why this happened."

Bernal was ordered to pay the fine, compensation and costs within 28 days or before he leaves the country.

He left the court without commenting.