A former policeman who blackmailed men by taking photographs of their licence plates at gay meeting places has been sentenced to nine months in jail, six of these suspended, reports RTV Utrecht on Friday.

The 37-year-old from Wijk bij Duurstede in Utrecht must also pay €2,850 in compensation and have psychological treatment.

He had said he would make the photographs public unless the men pictured paid him €1,000. He claimed to have written 37 such letters but police found 80 licence plates in their database, inputted under a colleague’s name.

The suspect said in court that he regretted his actions, wrote to victims to apologise, and escaped the longer sentence of two years that the prosecution had recommended.