Obsessed ex stood in nightclub staring at terrified victim during sick three-month stalking campaign

A man who threatened to slash his ex’s face in a three month stalking campaign has been jailed for 10 months.

Callum Parkinson was in a four year relationship with the woman which ended in August last year. Preston Crown Court heard the split was initially amicable but a week after the split, the 22-year-old appeared at the back of her house carrying a vodka bottle.

He accused his ex of sleeping with her neighbour and threatened to smash the bottle over her head. In the weeks that followed, Parkinson turned up at a nightclub where his ex was enjoying a night out with her friends. He did not approach her but stood looking at her, making her feel uncomfortable, the court heard.

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Over time, his threats escalated. The woman received threatening phone calls in which Parkinson said he would smash her windows and smash her neighbour’s face with a brick. On August 28, Parkinson approached the victim’s dad and asked if he could get hold of a gun – knowing it would get back to his ex.

After calling at 3am and asking her to open the front door, Parkinson said he would get someone to “boot the door in”. On one occasion he was demanding she brought their child down to him, which caused the toddler to cry hysterically, the court heard.

On October 28, Parkinson called the woman repeatedly, and when she did not answer he sent a video of himself driving past her house. He made threats to her new partner on numerous occasions and bombarded her with phone calls. The woman told police she felt constantly on edge as a result of her ex’s behaviour. She said she kept her curtains closed in case a window was smashed, to protect people inside her home from being hurt.

Parkinson, of Cambridge Street, Brierfield, was arrested in October but refused to be interviewed by police. He later pleaded guilty to stalking, putting a person in fear of violence. Sentencing, Recorder Michelle Brown said: “There was a significant breakdown in the relationship with your becoming increasingly more obsessed with where she was, what she was doing and who she was with.

“It is clear that the impact on her would have been significant. She was frightened and anxious and constantly on edge. It is clear that the nature of your behaviour towards her would have been frightening. The threats you made were significant and serious and the impact on her was serious. I note you are still a young man and I note your background.”

In addition to the jail sentence, the judge made a restraining order, banning Parkinson from going within 100m of his ex partner’s property for five years.

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