E-mailer jailed for stalking S Club star

A doctor's son who harassed a female member of the pop group S Club with explicit and threatening e-mails has been jailed for six months.

Steven Hindley, 41, of Cropwell Bishop, Nottinghamshire, who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, a mild form of autism, was sent to prison by Nottingham magistrates for harassing Tina Barrett. He was also guilty of possessing and making indecent images of children.

The court was told Hindley had an IQ rating in the top 10 per cent in the country. A recluse who relied upon his computer for contact with the world, he pleaded not guilty to harassing Miss Barrett but was convicted after a trial last month.

The court heard that, in a series of e-mails between March and December last year, Hindley first claimed to be called Clare Smith, a friend of Hindley. Using that cover, he sent Miss Barrett e-mails saying Hindley had a brain tumour and pleaded for a visit from the star before his impending death. A second set of messages purported to come from Nottinghamshire Police and told Miss Barrett she was implicated in an investigation into Hindley's murder.

Hindley pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing indecent photographs of girls aged between 11 and 14 and five counts of making indecent pictures, for which he was sentenced to six months' prison. There was no separate sentence for harassment.