Stalker caused GP 'two years of trauma'

A doctor told a court yesterday of his "psychological nightmare" at the hands of a woman who stalked him for more than two years.

Catherine Thompson, 41, waited almost every day outside the home of Dr Philip Hart, a GP, followed him to work and booked appointments to see him as often as possible, sometimes several times a week. Thompson, a millionaire, even bought a flat overlooking Dr Hart's surgery in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, and inquired about buying a £400,000 house near his home, which he shares with his wife Caroline, 37, and two daughters, aged eight and five.

She was ordered yesterday never to return to her flat and to stay away from Dr Hart and his family for ever by magistrates who found her guilty of harassment last month. Thomson had denied the charge.

As part of a restraining order, she was told not to go within a mile of Dr Hart's surgery or his home at nearby Scaynes Hill, and never to visit two other surgeries where he works. She was also ordered to pay £2,500 compensation to Dr Hart, £5,000 costs and to carry out 100 hours of community labour.

Yesterday's hearing at Mid Sussex Magistrates' Court heard from Thompson's solicitor, Julian Kwollec, how she refused to accept responsibility for the effect of her actions.

After the hearing, Dr Hart said: "I hope she will give up now ... It's been two years of trauma and stress."