A ROMSEY man who broke into his ex-partner’s home and harassed her over several weeks while under the influence of cocaine has been jailed.

Lee Whittaker, 32, of Doris Bunting Road, was the subject of a non-molestation order preventing him from contacting her, but between December 27, 2020, to February 7, this year, he harassed her and left her scared in her own home.

Whittaker and the woman had been together for five years when she ended the relationship after he assaulted her at a petrol station.

Over the six weeks he turned up at her house, threw stones at her window, followed the woman to her work in Calmore, Totton, broke into her home and stole her front door key, and constantly phoned her using a withheld number, Winchester Crown Court was told on Friday.

Prosecutor Chloe Griggs said in one incident: “At 3 o’clock in the morning on 27th December (the victim) was asleep in bed, but she woke to find Mr Whittaker in her bedroom and the light on. Mr Whittaker said ‘I’m just making sure you are not with a bloke’.”

The court was told that Whittaker had broken in through a patio door using a crowbar.

“That incident affected her greatly. She couldn’t leave the property for three days because he remained outside the property for three days. She couldn’t feed her guinea pigs and they unfortunately died,” Ms Griggs said.

He continued to turn up at the victim’s home throughout January and “on each occasion he appeared in the back garden, banging on her kitchen window and demanded to be let in”. On another occasion he attacked her by reaching through a window.

Whittaker also threatened the woman to retract her statement saying: “If you don’t you will regret it”.

The court was told that Whittaker evaded police for a number of weeks but eventually handed himself in at Southampton police station.

Whittaker had previously pleaded guilty to breaching a non-molestation order, harassment, and intimidation.

In mitigation, Paul Fairley said that Whittaker was taking “an awful lot of cocaine”, suffering from paranoia and “thought the whole world was against him” at the time of the offending.

Mr Fairley told the court that his client does not remember some of the incidents but as the victim had said “it happened he accepts that it happened”.

Whilst in custody Whittaker has “buckled down” and has completed a number of courses, as well as being in a “position of trust” as cleaner in prison.

In sentencing, Judge William Mosley QC said that Whittaker had ‘shattered the confidence’ of his victim.

Whittaker was jailed for 30 months. A five-year restraining order was also imposed preventing him from contacting the woman.