A Gogglebox researcher has been jailed for 18 months after stalking her ex-boyfriend and his new lover.
Rachel Barnes, 27, even posed as a delivery driver in an attempt to gain access to the police officer and followed the pair for three months.
Rachel’s obsession began when she met PC William Saunders for casual sex through dating website Hinge, but after she discovered he had begun a new relationship, she began a ‘surveillance operation’.
The scorned researcher began investigating Mr Saunders and searching for private information about his new girlfriend, Catherine Baird.
She took her methods to the extremes, making fake social media accounts and added the couple as well as Ms Baird’s housemate.
At one point she attempted to gain access to the property by pretending to be a delivery driver.
(Image: SWNS)
It was proven by phone records that Barnes was near Ms Baird’s home on over 400 occasions and that she made false reports to the police about a lockdown breach by Mr Saunders.
Barnes was sentenced at Swindon Crown Court after admitting to two counts of stalking and causing serious distress and was jailed for 18 months due to her offences. An indefinite restraining order was also given.
Ms Baird was so upset by the process that she had to buy CCTV cameras and a Ring doorbell for her property due to fears for her safety amid the lengthy incident.
(Image: SWNS)
Ms Baird also had to take four weeks off work and could not take her detective’s qualification due to the stress.
Ms Baird said in a statement that she ‘wanted to curl up in a ball and cry and scream’ for Barnes to stop the harassment.
She said: “Prior to her inserting herself into my life, I was doing well in work and progressing well. This has now stopped and it is all down to her fixated and obsessive behaviour.”
(Image: Channel 4)
She continued: “The whole ordeal of fearing my stalker knew my address caused a decline in my mental health and in turn it affected my performance at work.
“She has impacted so many aspects of my life and I am still having to be mindful, even now.”
She concluded by saying that she couldn’t share her location with anyone and that Barnes had impacted her daughter’s life too, a move which she put down to ‘jealousy that I was with Will and she was not.’
For more of the latest showbiz news from Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here .
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
