Carlisle army veteran jailed for stalking ex-girlfriend

An army veteran who hounded his ex-partner with calls and messages, and hid in a bush before intercepting her as she walked to work, has been jailed.

Stephen Young, from Carlisle, had been sent to prison weeks earlier for stalking the woman, with whom he had been in an 18-month relationship.

Young had previously been served with a two-year restraining order, banning him from getting in touch with her and going near her home.

The 46-year-old admitted stalking without fear of alarm or distress, as well as three restraining order breaches, during a hearing at Carlisle Crown Court and was sentenced to 16 months in jail.

The court heard Young was released from custody on the 24 June and bombarded the woman with calls and texts in the hours that followed.

He switched to email and TikTok when she tried to block more than 150 unwanted contact attempts by him.

In one of his messages, he wrote: “One day I will win. I will keep trying.”

In an impact statement, the woman said she did not know “when it will stop”.

“I just count down when he is going to be released and think I’m going to have to go through this again,” she said.

The court heard he had convictions for similar offences, dating back several years and relating to different ex-partners.

Young, previously of Carlisle’s Southwell Square, had penned a letter expressing genuine remorse, his lawyer said.

The court was told he saw active service in Iraq, Serbia and Afghanistan, but latterly suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression, and alcohol misuse had worsened his problems.

The lawyer added that Young was motivated to address his issues.

Imposing an immediate 16-month jail term, Judge Michael Fanning, said: “Bluntly put, when in drink, you cannot resist offending against domestic partners.

“You accept alcohol is your destructive demon.

“Until you develop the motivation and ability to resist it, you will remain an ongoing menace to your partners.”