A MAN who stalked a woman by going to her home and place of work and called her on multiple occasions has appeared in court.

Dean Hindmarsh, 34, of Manor Grove, Cockfield, near Bishop Auckland, appeared at Newton Aycliffe Magistrate’s Court, charged with stalking, without fear, alarm or distress.

The court was told he "pursued a course of conduct which amounted to the stalking of his victim, which you knew or ought to have known amounted to the harassment".

Magistrates heard he went to the woman's place of work, and her address on multiple occasions, and sent messages and made phonecalls to her over the new year period.

Get more from The Northern Echo with a Premium Plus digital subscription from as little as only £1.50 a week. Click here.

Hindmarsh pleaded not guilty to the charge but magistrates found the case proved.

He was fined £880 and ordered to pay compensation of £500, as well as a surcharge of £352 prosecution costs of £300 – a total of £1,952.

Magistrates imposed an order forbidding him from contacting the woman or from going to her home or work address. The order lasts until September 2025.