A ‘deranged’ man who made his ex-partner’s life a misery during a campaign of stalking has landed himself in court.

Ethan Russell would regularly follow the woman when she drove to pick up their child from nursery which left her feeling scared and anxious.

And on one occasion turned up at her sister’s home and demanded she turn up or he would take away their child.

The 30-year-old admitted he had struggled to come to terms with the breakdown of their relationship two years earlier after being together since they were teenagers.

Teesside Crown Court heard how Russell contacted his ex’s new partner telling him that they were still a couple and would use other people's phones to call her so she would answer.

Tabitha Buck, prosecuting, said throughout the couple’s relationship the complainant had found the defendant ‘paranoid and jealous’.

She said: “The defendant came to her sister's house and demanded that she return there. He threatened to take their child away if she didn’t come back.”

The court heard how Russell was arrested and interviewed about his behaviour at the beginning of October 2022 but it didn’t deter his campaign of stalking.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said she is receiving trauma counselling as her ‘anxiety is through the roof’.

Russell, of Nightingale Road, Guisborough, pleaded guilty to stalking between September 10, 2022, and October 24, 2022.

John Nixon, mitigating, said his client had been unable to come to terms with the end of their relationship and accepted he had made her life a misery.

He added: "The complainant’s new partner described him as deranged – he was deranged. He lost his mind and was in a state.

“He now looks back with regret about his behaviour.”

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Recorder Abdul Iqbal KC sentenced Russell to 16 months in prison suspended for 18 months after he spent a month ‘monitoring’ his ex-partner’s movements.

He said: “It has caused significant harm to her and she has been forced to change her lifestyle.”

Russell was ordered to attend 30 sessions of Building Better Relationships, ten rehabilitation activity requirement days and carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.

The Guisborough man was also made subject of two five-year restraining orders to protect his victim and her new partner.