A STALKER who refused to accept that a woman no longer wanted to be with him ‘bombarded’ her with calls, emails and letters.

Jonathan Mills also reportedly installed a tracking device on her car, a court heard, hid in bushes and sent her bank transfers with messages on following their break-up.

The 33-year-old, of Runcorn, was told that his actions committed in Warrington over a period of months amounted to behaviour which was described as ‘obsessive and fixated’.

However, he was spared an immediate jail sentence after admitting a charge of stalking and appearing to be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, May 26.

The court heard how the complainant in the case was a woman who had formerly been in a relationship with the defendant for around four years, off and on.

She said that towards the end, the relationship ‘turned toxic’, and in May last year she decided that it was over.

She told him on a number of occasions that it was over, and when he went on holiday to Thailand she moved out of the address they shared to ‘put distance between them’.

However, despite being told that their relationship was over, Mills continued to contact her through social media using fake accounts.

He attended her daughter’s school on two occasions – once in a car and another hiding in bushes.

In July, the defendant followed her in his car down a road, and between June and October he sent her 39 emails asking for forgiveness, despite being told she did not want any more contact.

in July and August, the victim received a number of phone calls from a withheld number, most of which she did not answer, but ones she did had the defendant on the other end.

On August 29, Mills attended her new apartment, which he did not know the address of, with the victim assuming that he followed her. The court heard of the reported use of a tracking device.

He also sent her letters and cards, as well as bank transfers of money with messages attached, before being arrested and giving no comment during his police interview.

In an impact statement, the victim said she had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, and that she is having therapy as a result of Mills’ behaviour.

The court heard she is having to take sleeping pills after suffering from nightmares, is worried about seeing the defendant if she leaves her flat and does not even feel safe in her own home.

The statement added that she was a happy and outgoing person with lots of friends before the stalking, but she does not feel like that anymore as a result of his behaviour.

The court was told that despite the ‘persistent and prolonged behaviour causing serious distress’, Mills has no previous convictions.

Defending her client, Kate Morley said that the best point of mitigation she could offer was his guilty plea, and that this is his first conviction at the age of 33.

“He did not appreciate in the moment the distress he was causing, but he acknowledges in hindsight his poor judgement,” she said.

Ms Morley added that Mills has had no contact with the victim in the last eight months, has moved on with a new relationship and is in a much better place now.

Before sentencing, judge Robert Trevor Jones said: “This behaviour of yours has been described as obsessive and fixated – and it is simply that.

“It led to a prolonged period of three to four months of you bombarding her with emails, letters and phone calls, installing a tracking device on her car, approaching her new home where she thought she was safe and approaching her daughter’s school.”

He said that Mills’ remorse is limited, with some element of ‘still blaming the victim for orchestrating the situation’.

“All she wanted was for you to stop getting in contact and recognise that the relationship was finished, but you did not recognise that,” he added.

“The only thing that stopped you was you being arrested.”

Mills, of The Tithings in Runcorn, was sentenced to three months in prison suspended for 18 months.

He was also ordered to complete 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 160 hours of unpaid work.

In addition, the court imposed a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting the victim for the next four years.