Howard Bird contacted Claire Stuart claiming to ‘be a good friend’ – before threatening her on Facebook
A STALKER who wrote “deluded” letters to a 42-year old woman for seven months told her he wanted them to go on holiday together because he was “in need of a friend”, a court heard.
Howard Bird, 70, of Heol Dewi, Hengoed, Caerphilly, wrote four letters to Claire Stuart’s home and workplace, despite an existing restraining order prohibiting him from doing so.
Gareth Williams, defending, told Cardiff Crown Court that Bird later made an insulting post about Ms Stuart on Facebook and threatened to damage her car.
Hannah Friedman, prosecuting, said the pensioner has seven prior convictions stemming from 12 offences all relating to the same 42-year-old victim, and this was a stalking offence committed in breach of a court order.
Ms Stuart recognised Bird’s handwriting when she received a birthday card on June 12, 2024, Miss Friedman told the court.
Bird then sent two letters to her place of work in September, expressing his wish for them to go on holiday to Benidorm from Cardiff airport any time between October and early December.
Bird told his victim: “I am still trying to be a good friend to you.”
Ms Stuart also received a gift of marshmallows and a Christmas card on December 7, 2024, which said that “there was still time” for them to travel together, Miss Friedman said.
Mr Williams, defending, did not deny that his client’s contact with Ms Stuart was deliberate and persistent and said the letters written to Ms Stuart were ‘deluded’ in nature. But Mr Williams asked the judge to consider the defendant’s loneliness.
“He has a very isolated lifestyle due to health, retirement, lack of friends and lack of contact with his family,” said Mr Williams.
Mr Williams also explained that Bird was “in need of a friend” and “made an error in sending letters to be friends with someone who does not want to be”.
Bird was arrested on December 8, 2024, after Ms Stuart reported him to police for the insulting Facebook post. He was remanded in custody on December 10.
In her victim impact statement, read out to the court by Miss Friedman, Ms Stuart said: “I am scared. I do not know what he will do next.
“I don’t like going out on my own. I would say I have become a hermit. The whole incident has made me feel like I don’t want to make friends anymore.
“I feel vulnerable. I feel I am looking over my shoulder because of what Bird has done to me. I’m just petrified.”
Bird previously pleaded guilty to the charges of stalking and five breaches of the restraining order at Newport Magistrates Court in December 2024.
Recorder Christian Jowett reduced Bird’s sentence from 12 to eight months imprisonment for one count of stalking and from six to four months imprisonment for five breaches of the restraining order, to be served concurrently. He will pay a £187 surcharge in the three months following his release.
The judge said that Bird had a “poor history in compliance with the restraining order” and felt that “no other sentence can be justified” given the offences’ starting point, range and aggravating circumstances.
