Shamed paedophile Gary Glitter ventures out of hiding wearing wig and straw hat disguise

Wearing a bizarre red wig and a wide-brimmed straw hat, he could almost pass for just an eccentric pensioner out for the evening.

But, beneath the disguise, this thin-looking man is shamed paedophile Gary Glitter as he desperately attempts to avoid being recognised.

Shorn of his forked white beard and dressed in a ragged coat and holey jeans, the ex-pop star looked markedly different from the familiar grinning figure pictured at Bangkok airport last week.

Glitter - real name Paul Gadd - is demanding round-the-clock police protection because he fears he could be attacked to avenge his crimes against children.

He is now said to be holed up at a £2million detached house in Hampshire owned by a property developer friend.

The property is just a few hundred yards away from a local nursery., according to the Sun.

He was spotted driving in a red BMW with a friend to Sainsbury's, but remained in the car while his friend went inside to do some shopping.

The pair then headed to a car showroom where they admired a Mercedes.

As he stepped out of the car, Glitter put on some brand new sunglasses – still with the price tag attached – before he was confronted by a reporter about his true identity.

He said: 'I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know who you mean.'

His friend then swung a punch at the reporter before they both drove off.

A source told the paper: 'Glitter is terrified of being recognised because he knows he’s a pariah.

'He’s planned his change of look for ages and is so arrogant he was convinced he’d outwit everyone. But he looks more like a character from Little Britain. It’s pitiful.'

Earlier in the day he had been spotted outside his friend’s house.

Glitter, 64, had managed to escape the attentions of photographers when he arrived in Heathrow last week.

Gary Glitter grins at Bangkok airport last week as he initially refused to be sent to Britain

It was previously thought Glitter may have returned to the West Country where he used to have a home amid reports he had been house-hunting using an alias.

His demand for police protection could cost taxpayers £50,000 a year if police decide there are credible threats against his life.

Glitter, convicted of molesting two Vietnamese girls aged ten and 11 in 2006, returned to Britain on Saturday after having initially refused to return there.

Amid farcical scenes, he was rejected by Vietnam, Hong Kong and Thailand.

Upon his return to Heathrow, he sent his lawyer David Corker in his place to a court hearing to argue he should not have to sign on the sex offender's register.

Glitter claimed he didn't commit the offences for which he was jailed in Thailand and that his human rights were breached.

He also pleaded that he was a sick man who may have caught TB from another inmate in jail.

Mr Corker applied for a six-week postponement but District Judge David Simpson rejected the claims and ordered Glitter to sign the register within three days.

When he returned to Britain he was ordered by magistrates to sign on the sex offenders' register and give details of his name, address, date of birth and National Insurance number.

A Hampshire Police spokesman would not confirm or deny whether Glitter had done so.

"It's our policy not to discuss the details of individuals registered as sex offenders," he said.