Bassetlaw man bombarded his ex-partner with a 'barrage of abuse' after split

Lewis Oxley's ex 'decided she didn't want to see him anymore and he didn't take kindly to this,' after their 18-month relationship ended in May 2021, said prosecutor Jenna Minton.

Between June 30 and July 19, the 37-year-old 'bombarded' her with messages. One said: "Your mum will be dead soon and you will be on your own."

Another warned 'there's going to be trouble tonight' so she stayed with a friend.

He called her 'all the names under the sun,' claimed he had been in an accident when he hadn't, and 'flooded her with calls and messages' when she wouldn't see him, Ms Minton said.

Oxley got a job at the same agency and confronted her in a 'loud and confrontational' manner while asking why she was ignoring him.

In a statement, she said: "Since splitting with him he tried to make my life extremely difficult and this stemmed into my work life."

She said he 'threatened to get someone to beat her up,' and was 'petrified of seeing him’.

There was no physical abuse, but the emotional impact 'drained her to the point of feeling suicidal’, the court heard.

"No one should feel like they have to look over their shoulder while they are out in public," she added.

Ian Pridham, mitigating, said the defendant gives 'a very different account of the relationship’, which started after he split from his wife. His ex-wife said the charges were ‘out of character’.

He said Oxley paid for his ex to obtain a Class 2 driving licence and recommended her to the agency, before they split, so he didn't follow her there, the court heard.

"He was well and truly committed while she wanted it to end," Mr Pridham said, adding that Oxley's ‘head was in a mess’ and he alternated between declarations of love and abuse in ‘the death throes of the relationship’.

Oxley, of Tunnel Road, Retford, admitted harassment without violence when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Tuesday.

He received a 12-month community order with 50 rehabilitation sessions. He was fined £100, with £85 costs and a £95 surcharge.