Serial stalker jailed for harassing two women in Warrington

Grant Hodnett caused "maximum distress from afar" to an ex-partner through harassing her online, police say

A serial stalker who harassed one woman online and breached a restraining order relating to another has been jailed.

Grant Hodnett, 41, caused "maximum distress from afar" to an ex-partner through calls, emails, texts and giving out her details to charities and counsellors, Cheshire Police said.

He was then seen by another victim in an area which was prohibited due to his previous stalking conviction.

He was jailed for 18 months at Liverpool Crown Court.

Hodnett and a woman had ended their three-month relationship in June 2023, police said.

The woman then received numerous emails, messages and calls that said her details had been used to sign her up to newsletters and services, including cigarette companies, alcohol charities and many counsellors.

Hodnett, who is a former professional cricket player, had also called the victim and her friends from other withheld numbers.

Detectives linked the subscriptions to Hodnett and his home address in Birch Road, Warrington.

'Shaken and distressed'

On 1 November, a woman who Hodnett had previously been convicted of stalking in September 2020, saw him in Stockton Heath.

He was prohibited from entering the area under an indefinite restraining order.

The force said Hodnett was arrested twice and he had attempted to hide his mobile phone, laptop and tablet.

Detectives said there had been "overwhelming evidence against him".

Hodnett pleaded guilty to stalking, involving serious alarm and distress, and breaching a restraining order.

He was given two indefinite restraining orders prohibiting him from contacting his victims, posting or publishing anything about them, or entering areas of Warrington and Northwich.

Cheshire Police described him as a "serial domestic abuse perpetrator" who had left the women "shaken and distressed".

"These convictions clearly demonstrate he is either unable or unwilling to accept his victims' decisions to end their relationships with him and to leave them alone or adhere to orders from the courts," a spokesman continued.

He praised the victims' bravery and strength, adding that they hoped their perpetrator's sentence would "help keep other women safe".