'I will follow you anywhere': Stalker accessed private area of Wakefield hospital during campaign of harassment against his ex-wife

Julian Proctor made his victim's life a misery by breaching conditions not to contact her "literally hundreds of times." Leeds Crown court heard how the 50-year-old stalked his former partner for seven months after the breakdown of their 15-year relationship. The marriage ended after years of Proctor being violent and controlling towards her. On one occasion she suffered a fractured wrist as she jumped from a car to get away from him. Bashir Ahmed, prosecuting, said the defendant has previous convictions for violence towards his wife. In 2006 he was convicted of battery for breaking her nose. Three years later, he was convicted of battery for grabbing her by the throat and squeezing until she almost passed out. In October last year, police removed Proctor from the woman's flat in Wakefield and arranged for the locks to be changed. Proctor continued to refuse to accept that the relationship was over He contacted his former partner on a daily basis by making phone phone calls and sending messages on WhatsApp and Facebook. The defendant also sent and delivered flowers to her flat and to the hospital in Wakefield where she worked. Mr Ahmed said Proctor would park outside the hospital and wait for her. On one occasion he entered the hospital and accessed staff-only areas and her manager had to call security. Proctor also resorted to blackmail by threatening to self-harm and burn her house down. He was arrested but continued to stalk the woman while on police bail. Proctor regularly followed her while she was shopping and even slept in his car outside her home. He sent the victim messages saying: "I will follow you anywhere." On May 8 this year, Proctor sent her photos of him cutting his chest and wrists with a razor. In his police interview, Procter denied the relationship had ended and said he loved the woman and wanted to talk to her. He told officers: "Without (the victim) there is no life." In a statement to the court, the woman said she now suffers from anxiety and sleep problems. She said she is always looking over her shoulder in case Procter is there and no longer leaves the house alone, which has affected her relationships. She also described how she had resorted to sitting on her living room floor in the dark in hope that Proctor would think she was not at home. Procter, of Drury Lane, Wakefield, pleaded guilty to stalking. He has previous convictions for dishonesty, vehicle-related offences, making a threat to kill and affray. Satpal Roth-Sharma, mitigating, said Proctor was abusing alcohol at the time of the offending. He was jailed for two-and-a-half years. Judge Simon Batiste told him: "It is clear you had no regard for the wishes of the complainant and the conditions of police bail had no real control of you because you were perfectly willing to breach those conditions literally hundreds of times."