A DUMPED boyfriend pestered his ex at a Worcester park and even forced her to lock herself in her car to escape from him hounding her.

Thomas Bates has already served two months in prison for flouting two separate court orders put in place to protect Maria Crowther, the ex who decided to end their relationship.

The 32-year-old dad, now of Baxter Gardens, Kidderminster, admitted ‘persistent breaches’ of both a non-molestation order and a later restraining order made to protect his ex-partner when he appeared at Worcester Crown Court yesterday.

The 32-year-old acted in breach of the restraining order on July 18 this year by banging on the window of her car with his mobile phone. The order was only made on July 2.

On the same day he also breached a non-molestation order (NMO) by following her from Worcester to Kidderminster on the A449, pursuing her all the way to the carpark of Kidderminster Police Station.

The NMO was made in the family court on May 26 this year and prohibits him from intimidating, harassing or pestering her.

He further breached the restraining order without reasonable excuse between July 19 and July 21 this year by telephoning her using his mother’s phone.

Bates also breached the non-molestation order by going to Brickfields Park in Worcester on July 20. At the time she was with her two children.

When the defendant appeared for sentence he had already been in prison for two months on remand. He has been in custody since he was arrested for the breaches on July 22 this year.

John Brotherton, prosecuting, said Miss Crowther ended her 12 year relationship with the defendant in April this year due to what she described as his ‘controlling behaviour’.

However, she said the defendant repeatedly messaged her and telephoned her to the extent that she sought a NMO from the family court. The defendant was already subject to a community order at the time of the breaches.

Mr Brotherton said Miss Crowther was driving to Kidderminster on the A449 at 10am when ‘she became aware the defendant was following her in his van’.

“She had the children with her in the car and the defendant was flashing his lights at her and sounding his horn” said the prosecutor.

He followed her into the carpark of Kidderminster Police Station. “She locked herself in the car. The defendant has approached her vehicle and started to knock on the window with his mobile phone, shouting that he wanted to speak to her” said Mr Brotherton.

The whole incident lasted around 10 minutes before he drove away. The prosecutor also said the defendant tried to use his vehicle to create a nuisance and prevent her leaving the carpark although no charge of dangerous driving was pursued by the prosecution.

In total the defendant made 52 calls to the complainant. At around 4.30pm she was sitting on the grass at Brickfields park in Worcester with her children when she became aware of the defendant approaching from around 10 metres away.

The defendant left when she called police. Bates was arrested and taken to Worcester Police Station where he answered no comment to questions. However, did say he had only gone to Brickfields Park to wait for a friend to have a meal. “He had not known the complainant was there” he said.

In a victim impact statement Miss Crowther said she is ‘anxious and stressed’, felt she was ‘constantly looking over her shoulder’ and ‘feared he would appear at any time’.

She also said she had lost weight due to the stress.

Niall Skinner, defending, said: “He isn’t someone who would ever want to be in this position again quite frankly. The time spent in custody has served as complete reinforcement to him that court orders are there to be obeyed.”

Judge Nicolas Cartwright said: “Sadly this relationship came to an end in April this year. Maria Crowther made that decision and, hard to accept as I’m sure it was, you should have accepted it.”

He said the NMO and the later restraining order should have put a stop to his behaviour but he went on to breach both on more than one occasion.

He told the defendant: “You turned up at Brickfields Park and stayed there despite the fact you knew full well she was there. You left her anxious and stressed. She must have wondered what the point of getting these orders was given that you were regularly breaching them."

Taking into account that the defendant had already spent two months in prison he sentenced him to 15 months in prison suspended for 18 months. The restraining order and NMO remain in force. The defendant must also complete the building better relationships programme and 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

Bates was also ordered to pay £1,000 costs and a statutory victim surcharge to be calculated administratively.