Female stalker lied about being pregnant and followed her ex to the gym before nearly running him over after they broke up
Sophie Clifford, 31, had been in an on-off relationship with the victim, but when it ended, she ignored his attempts to tell her not to contact him any more.
Despite warnings that if she kept contacting him, he would go to the police, she continued sending messages, turned up at his home and left a bracelet with his name on it on his car.
On January 27, she 'followed him to the gym' before she 'swerved into him' while he was walking with a friend, narrowly missing them both.
In a statement read out in court, the victim wrote: 'I felt physically unsafe. She could cause me physical harm and I never thought she could do such a thing.
'I thought "Will other people be hurt by Sophie because of the quarrel we had?"'
She has now been convicted of pursuing a course of conduct which amounted to the stalking and harassment of the victim by sending him numerous messages between December 28, 2024, and January 28, 2025.
She appeared in the dock at Swindon Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning after pleading guilty to the offence in June.
She appeared in the dock at Swindon Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning after pleading guilty to stalking and harassment of the victim by sending him numerous messages between December 28, 2024, and January 28, 2025
A Crown Prosecution Service representative said: 'Further messages asked him to unblock her and said she missed him.
'When she swerved into him, he was walking with another friend. The vehicle skimmed past and this caused both of them some fear that they would be hit.
'She accepted that she had lied about a pregnancy to get his attention.'
The victim added in his statement that he has 'pushed people away' due to worries about what she may do.
'I'm worried about her coming back to my house and running into my dad, who is vulnerable,' he wrote.
'I feel on edge and am worried I'm being watched when talking to female friends, I would catch her looking at us.
'She messaged one of the girls I was seeing to sabotage my image.
'This has changed my personality, I feel miserable and I refuse to meet anyone new so that I can avoid this situation happening again.
'I have no motivation to create any romantic relations.'
As part of Clifford's defence, two good character references praised her for being 'kind, caring, and thoughtful, with a gentle nature and desire for peace'.
These references also mentioned difficult personal challenges she had faced during the relationship, which had led to issues with her mental wellbeing, and that she was seeking professional help to deal with these issues.
Clifford also sent in a statement which read: 'I have not acted this way to anyone else.
'I've addressed my emotional wellbeing, I take full responsibility, and am actively making sure nothing like this happens again.'
Harriet Heard, defending, said: 'She does not want any contact with him and has rearranged her life so she is no longer going to the same places.
'When she saw him in Asda, she dropped her basket and ran out of the building.
'It has been exceedingly traumatic for her as well, she does not want anything to do with him.
'There have been concerns over her mental health since the start of the relationship.
'It's the worst relationship of her life, it was toxic.
'She was love-bombed by him in the first instance, she was pinning everything on this relationship. It was not a healthy relationship.'
Clifford received a 12-month community order that requires her to carry out up to 15 rehabilitation activity days and pay a £292 fine as well as £85 court costs plus £114 to fund victim services.
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