A ‘POSSESSIVE’ 67-year-old who bombarded a woman with messages causing her “considerable distress” has been given a restraining order.

Steve Radley, of Woodlands Hay Lane, Braintree, had got back in touch with a woman – whom he had previously known for 30 years – in November 2022.

After a few months, however, the woman asked him to stop contacting her because he had become possessive, the court heard.

At Colchester Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, Radley, who has a previous harassment conviction dating back to 2017, admitted a charge of harassment. 

Radley was told by magistrate judge Lucy Lavender how his actions caused “considerable distress” to his victim.

Rebecca Debenham, prosecuting, told the court how Radley was "possessive, and constantly messaging his victim".

In March 2023, the victim asked the defendant to leave her alone and stop messaging her, but he continued.

“She reinforced this request, but it was not adhered to by the defendant.

“The defendant sent a disproportionate number of messages, despite being told to stop.”

Levant Kemal, mitigating, said Radley had been struggling during the period of the offending with the ill-health of his sister who had cancer, and had been relying on emotional support from the victim.

He said: “Radley and the victim had been friends for 30 years; unfortunately, in May 2023, Radley’s sister was dying of cancer, and she was someone he was incredibly close to.

“He did lean on the complainant for emotional support and she took him to see his sister in hospital.

“It was compounded that Radley’s stepdaughter from a previous relationship committed suicide – this all happened in the space of a month.

“It became too much for him.”

Magistrate judge Lucy Lavender ordered Radley to pay £185 in costs, £200 in fines, and imposed a one-year restraining order to prevent him from making any form of contact with his victim.

The judge said: “You caused considerable distress to the victim in this case; despite her numerous requests for you to stop contacting her, you didn’t respect her wishes and that caused her a lot of distress.”