A SOUTHAMPTON man stalked his former partner leaving her paranoid and uneasy after following her halfway across Europe.
Andrew Brown, 28, followed his ex to Copenhagen in Denmark after she posted on social media ahead of her holiday.
Brown - said to be 'vulnerable' after witnessing his own mother's murder aged 12 - put a photo of his suitcase on his Instagram with the caption “planning a spontaneous holiday”.
When his ex then asked him where he was going, he told her he knew exactly where she was headed.
Although the pair did not see each other in the Danish capital, magistrates heard how the woman said it “ruined the trip”.
Prosecuting, Natalie Angel explained that this was just one incident in a campaign of harassment that lasted from October to December last year.
Ms Angel told Southampton Magistrates' Court that Brown had been posting letters at her home, leaving flowers on her car, turning up at her work following the woman.
He also threatened to kill himself and sent a suicide note to her place of work.
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In a statement read out in court, his victim said she feels “completely paranoid” and added: “I don’t feel like I have been able to do my job”.
“I’m worried he is going to be there waiting in the dark for me. I don’t know what he might do next.
“I feel I’m always in fight or flight and I have not been able to relax for some time. I’m constantly waiting for him to turn up again.
“When I was in Copenhagen, I felt completely unsafe. He got what he wanted by making me feel so uneasy.”
Brown, of Henstead Road, Southampton was hauled in front of magistrates on Wednesday after pleading guilty to one count of stalking.
Mitigating, Oliver O’Conner said Brown is a “vulnerable adult” having suffered “awful trauma” as a child.
Mr O'Conner said: “At the age of 12 (he watched) his stepfather murder his mother. He is only now realising that this has probably been unresolved trauma.”
Brown has now moved to Darlington which Mr O’Conner said was planned “so that she has that comfort and peace of mind”.
But magistrate, John Moore said there had been a degree of planning causing “very serious distress” to the victim.
Brown was given a community order to last 12 months with 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days and a fine of £369.
He must also pay a surcharge of £114 and costs of £85.
A restraining order was put in place banning him from contacting his ex directly or indirectly for the next 10 years.
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