Married love cheat stalked ex-mistress to top of England's third highest mountain when she broke off affair

Daily Mail​

07-08-2025

A cheating husband bombarded his ex-mistress with hundreds of calls and even stalked her to the summit of England's third highest mountain when she broke off their affair.
The woman said she 'froze in terror' when she saw the figure of John Hall, 51, looming above her through the mist at the 3,117ft peak of Helvellyn, in the Lake District.
She said: 'It was quite a foggy day and as we were coming up this steep ridge I looked up and straight away I just froze in fear. I said to my friend: ''It's him."
'I grabbed her in fear. I didn't know what to do. My legs went like jelly, I was clinging to her and couldn't breathe. I was saying, ''He's here, he's here.''
The woman, who was on a hike up the Cumbrian fell with her walking group, had broken off the illicit relationship with Hall nine months earlier. But the married father-of-one refused to accept it was over.
He bombarded her with hundreds of calls and messages, turned up at her home unannounced and was repeatedly arrested by police - before following her up the mountain.
She told the BBC that when she arrived at the car park at the bottom of the peak, following a seven-hour descent, he was waiting for her.
As she and her friends set off for home, he chased the frightened woman in his car, prompting her to call police.
Hall was arrested and remanded into custody. He was hauled before magistrates in Newcastle but freed on an electronic tag, before continuing his campaign of harassment undeterred.
Last month he appeared before Newcastle Magistrates Court again where he pleaded guilty to stalking and was sentenced to five and a half months in jail. But he was released just two days later on licence because of time spent on remand.
His unnamed victim, who is in her late 30s and from Tyneside, claimed she moved into a women's refuge and quit her job because of Hall's terrifying behaviour.
She said she was 'gutted' at the short prison term and called for tougher sentences to prevent other women suffering the same ordeal.
'I have been in fear of my life,' she said. 'Something needs to change.'
Hall, who works at a Greggs bakery, started a relationship with the woman in 2021.
But she became suspicious when he suggested they keep it a secret and a few months later discovered he was married with a child.
He promised to leave his wife and the couple moved in together for a period, but he went back to his marriage and eventually, after more than two years, the woman decided to end their affair for good, in January last year.
However, Hall took the break-up badly and continued to pursue her. He bombarded her with calls and messages, turned up at her home in the middle of the night, and followed her in her car, prompting her to repeatedly call police about his behaviour.
Then, in September, he stalked her on the trip up Helvellyn. After spotting him at the top, the woman said Hall followed her group all the way down the seven hour descent and was sitting on the open boot of his car, waiting for them, in the mountain car park when they got to the bottom.
The victim and her friends left Helvellyn and set off through the Lake District, but Hall continued to follow the vehicle she was in.
She said: 'He ended up catching up to us and I pulled into a garage. I didn't indicate, I was driving at 60mph and I left it until the very last second and pulled into a garage forecourt.
'I waited before carrying on with my journey but I ran into a line of traffic and saw there was a car driving slowly at the front.
'The car pulled into a layby and as I went past I realised it was him and he began following me again, this time all the way to Northumberland.
'I dialled 999 and the police said they were coming straight out to arrest him and he was caught.
'This was probably the 10th or 11th time he had been arrested and he was finally remanded in custody.'
After four weeks on remand, Hall admitted stalking and was given a community order and a restraining order at Newcastle Magistrates' Court.
He was also ordered to wear an electronic tag but managed to rip it off and sent the victim a picture of it in his hand.
Then, in February he called her 54 times in two days and also sent her messages and a photo, in breach of the restraining order. He was arrested again and remanded in custody.
Last month he appeared again before magistrates and was jailed after admitting a charge of stalking but served just two days because of time already spent on remand.
The woman added: 'I was gutted when probation rang to tell me he'd been released.
'I have feared for my life on numerous occasions.
'He would knock on my door for half an hour to 45 minutes, shouting through my letter box. Then he would ring and ring and ring and start pleading with me.
'He had me at rock bottom, I left my job because of him and I was miserable, I went home in tears every day for months.
'I would wake up to hundreds of missed calls, just message after message and eventually he would be sitting outside my house. There was one night at about 2 o'clock in the morning when my buzzer went and then he started throwing stones at my window.
'I didn't want to have to contact the police but it got worse, he started following me, knowing I would be driving down certain streets at certain times and he would be sitting waiting in his car.
'Something needs to be changed when it comes to this kind of behaviour. All I want is some peace.'
Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips said the Government was reviewing stalking legislation in a bid to reduce violence against women and girls by 50 per cent in 10 years
Jess Phillips, Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, said her thoughts were with the victim and 'all those affected by this deeply distressing case'.
'Stalking is a terrifying and insidious crime that robs victims of their freedom and safety,' she said.
'That's why we are taking decisive action to protect victims and ensure perpetrators face real and lasting consequences.'
She said there were plans to strengthen Protection Orders and stalking legislation was being reviewed so the police could 'crack down on dangerous perpetrators and more victims get the support they deserve.
'These measures are part of our ambitious mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade,' she added.