A woman was left suicidal after her ex pursued a terrifying stalking campaign against her, including fitting a tracking device to her car.
John Pennington, 37, could not accepted the couple's relationship was over and began bombarding ex-girlfriend Kayleigh Brodie with messages from fake accounts, in breach of a non-molestation order .
The warped stalker also fitted a tracking device to her car so he could follow her movements.
Neil Bisarya, prosecuting, said Pennington followed a course of conduct which led Ms Brodie, 32, to fear violence would be used against her, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Although they had no children of their own, Ms Brodie was a mum-of-three , and a number of the incidents took place while one of them was present.
Mr Bisarya said: "The tracking device was linked to the defendant’s mobile phone.
"On one occasion, he slashed two tyres on her car, and she tried to drive off with two deflated tyres.
"He grabbed her car keys through the car window and ran off. She was assisted by a taxi driver."
Mr Bisaraya said on another occasion Pennington "swerved his car" towards Ms Brodie's nephew while he was outside her home before driving off.
Ms Brodie's nine-year-old daughter was present in a separate incident in which Pennington began to tug on the windscreen wiper of her car, before he got in front of the vehicle and reversed towards her.
He then threatened to kill her, to which Ms Brodie's young daughter replied: "You won't touch my mum."
On one occasion during the concerted campaign, Ms Brodie was actually on her way to Warrington police station to report an earlier incident when Pennington came up behind hers and sped past her on the M62.
The messages became increasingly abusive, including calling her a "horrible tw*t". The tracking device meant he could turn up wherever Ms Brodie was, even sending her a message after she visited a kebab shop saying: "Ha ha, what's for tea?"
He also sent her a Facebook image of a rope and some stairs, implying he would kill himself.
On another occasion he taunted her by sending a message which read 'ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) is magic.'
The tracking device was discovered when Ms Brodie tried to find out how Pennington always knew where she would be. There was also evidence a second device had been historically attached to the car.
In the victim impact statement read out in court, Ms Brodie said "her whole life changed" from the moment she ended the relationship.
She added: "He (Pennington) was constantly harassing me and wouldn't leave me alone.
"It's had a massive effect on my mental health and I was terrified to leave the house.
"I often thought of ending my own life because of his behaviour. The only reason I didn't was because of my children."
Ms Brodie went on to say the stress had led her to quit her job as a veterinary nurse, leading to serious debt problems. She has since left her home in St Helens and moved in with her mum.
She added: "I hate John (Pennington). He has destroyed my life completely."
Ben Jones, defending, said Pennington - who appeared in court by videolink from prison - had a serious problem with controlling behaviour.
He added: "There was never any direct violence to Ms Brodie, despite the fear she felt."
Sentencing Pennington to 29 months in prison - of which he must serve half before being released on licence - Judge Gary Woodhall told him: "It's clear from early January, Ms Brodie wanted nothing to do with you.
"You deployed tracking devices to stalk, follow, threaten and pursue Miss Brodie over a prolonged period."
