Cardiff harasser called his ex 37 times half an hour after being handed second restraining order

A serial harasser breached a restraining order half an hour after appearing in court when he messaged his ex-partner.

Frederick Thomas asked her to pick him up as he no where to stay. The victim said it left her feeling fearful.

The 58-year-old from Cardiff was given a restraining order after threatening to stab his ex-partner on May 30.

He was convicted of malicious communications but breached the order for the first time after attending the victim's address.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that a second breach took place on June 3, when he again attempted to gain access to her address.

Half an hour after the sentencing, he contacted the victim and told her if he couldn't find a place to stay he would be going to her house and asked her to pick him up.

She stopped speaking to him, but he called another 37 times. He asked the victim to pick up his prescription and to do his washing.

The defendant later handed himself into the police and pleaded guilty to breaching a restraining order.

"I don't know what Freddy is capable of...."

In a victim personal statement read to the court, she said: "This has caused me stress and anxiety and I have been off work for four weeks.

"The longer it goes on the worse it gets. When Freddy was in prison I was able to live a normal life but since he came out, he said he had nowhere to live and had suicidal thoughts."He has previously made threats to harm me and I am afraid it will happen again in the future.

"I don't know what Freddy is capable of.... He doesn't realise how much of an impact his actions have on our whole family."

In mitigation, defence barrister Tim Evans said his had client struggled with his mental health for some years and suffered bereavements, including both of his parents and his 16-year-old son.

He described the defendant's offending as "pointless" as the victim was not going to comply with his requests.Judge Nicola Saffman sentenced Thomas to 12 months and eight weeks imprisonment, including the breached suspended sentence. She also made him subject to a further restraining order.

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