Peter Milner, 51, of Kenton Drive, was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court yesterday (12/06) after pleading guilty.

Milner met his victim through volunteering work and between September 2023 and November 2023 he bombarded her with messages, which became obsessive. He also took photos from her social media and stored them on his own devices. Milner’s conduct towards her friends and reports to the police carried on until March 2023.

Milner was also given a seven-year restraining order.

In a statement read to the court his victim said: “I was subjected to continuous harassment directly and when Milner was blocked, he resorted to public social media posts and then my friends.

His behaviour extended to extreme measures of making false welfare reports about me to the police, telling them that I was being held hostage and I was being prevented from speaking to him … I found this particularly worrying as it showed he had no concept of reality .. the police were duty bound to check in on me which resulted in coming to my home and then having to update Milner with regards to my welfare.

“My sense of safety I once took for granted, vanished, replaced by a constant feeling of fear and uncertainty.”

LCI Michael land said: “Stalking is an intrusive crime and we take reports very seriously. Victims are endlessly harassed, their private lives are completely intruded and the lasting impact on a victim can be life-changing.

I hope this sentence gives other victims encouragement and belief that they will be listened to and by working with the police they can help stop this impactful behaviour.

I’d like to thank Milner’s victims for coming to us and trusting us to help them seek justice. We know that telling someone is hard to do, but there are organisations that can help you. 

If you are, or someone you know is, being stalked or harassed, we can put you in touch with other support organisations that understand your specific needs

You can find details of organisations that can support you here: Support for victims of stalking and harassment | Wiltshire Police

Stalking behaviours can appear small in isolation, but when they are combined into a pattern which follows the FOUR mnemonic – Fixated, Obsessed, Unwanted, Repeated – then victims should record it, keep a log of evidence and report it before it escalates further.