|
A jumping coach who threw petrol and tried to burn down his ex-partner's house in a terrifying crime spree after refusing to accept he wanted to end the relationship has been jailed.
Sarah Jones, 38, moved into Chris Cummings' home with her two teenage girls after the pair met at a horse show where he was showing off his high-quality horse business.
The 37-year-old now says allowing them to share his £600,000 farmhouse in North Yorkshire was the worst decision of his life.
Because when Mr. Cummings decided the spark was gone after five years together, she refused to leave his property.
He was eventually forced to call the police – changing the locks while she and her children left.
“I bought my property myself based on my hard work to build my business, she had no right to anything here,” the business owner said, as reported by the Mirror.
Sarah Jones, 38, moved into Chris Cumming's house with her two teenage daughters after the pair met at a horse show
Cummings now says allowing Jones and her daughters to share her £600,000 North Yorkshire farmhouse was the worst decision of her life
When Mr Cummings, 37, decided the spark had faded after five years together, Jones refused to leave his property
Cummings was eventually forced to call the police – changing the locks as she and her children left
“But she refused to leave. I had no choice but to involve the police and it was only at that point that she accepted that she had to leave, and when she did, I had the locks changed.
'Sarah didn't give up and for six to nine months she did everything she could to make my life a misery.'
But over the next nine months, Cummings said Jones did everything he could to “make his life a misery.”
She broke into his farmhouse and bombarded him with threatening messages.
He also says she talked to his clients and spread false allegations about him and his business, from which he has yet to recover.
Cummings claimed the equestrian shop owner, who recently renovated a former pharmacy in Bedale, North Yorkshire, even stole his vacuum cleaner and took over his post.
And in one terrifying incident, he found Jones pouring gasoline around her horse box while stopping her from setting it on fire.
Cummings, originally from Turriff, Aberdeenshire, continued: “You can't imagine the effect it has on your life when someone is determined to try and intimidate you and ruin your business. I lived in constant anxiety about what she might do next.'
In the months following his departure, Mr Cummings said Jones did everything he could to 'make his life a misery'
Jones broke into his £600,000 farmhouse and bombarded him with threatening messages
Cummings claimed the equestrian shop owner, from Bedale, North Yorkshire, even stole his vacuum cleaner and took over his post
In one horrific incident, he found Jones pouring gasoline into her horse box while stopping her from setting it on fire.
Jones was jailed for 18 months after admitting robbery, theft and harassment at Teesside Crown Court.
She did not enter a plea on the day her trial was supposed to begin, having made death threats, threats of property damage and assault by beating. They are now archived.
The single mother also faces a restraining order prohibiting her from communicating with Mr. Jones.
