A STALKER who loitered outside a woman's home late at night on several occasions has been spared jail.

Jeffrey Ashfield, from Wilmslow, appeared at Warrington Magistrates Court on Thursday, April 22, and admitted to stalking a woman.

Between May and August last year, the 47-year-old waited outside the home of the woman, who he had previously been in a relationship with, on at least four separate occasions under the cover of darkness.

As well as waiting outside her home, he also sent the woman unwanted gifts in the post and bombarded her with ‘persistent’ and unsolicited emails.

Magistrates handed Ashfield a sentence of 12 weeks imprisonment, which they chose to suspend for two years.

The defendant, of Dean Drive, was also handed a restraining order which prevents him from contacting his victim or entering her estate for the next five years.

The magistrates also imposed a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 35 days and told the defendant to pay a £128 victim surcharge plus court costs of £85.