LOVELORN PENSIONER ADMITS HARASSMENT
11:00 - 09 December 2006
A besotted pensioner who tried to woo a neighbour 30 years his junior by showering her with cash, gifts and a Barry White tape has been handed a restraining order.Lovelorn John Wimpenny, 71, also offered Jane Powrie half of his winter fuel allowance, telling her "never felt cold" when she was around.
He wrote her romantic poems with a note reading "love makes fools of wise men" in a bid to strike up a relationship with the 41-year-old, a court heard.
But he became so obsessed with Mrs Powrie that he ended up making threats towards her after she repeatedly rejected his advances.
Wimpenny has now been banned by magistrates from contacting her or going to her home after admitting a charge of harassment.
Despite this, Wimpenny, of Bridport, West Dorset, still professes to be in love with his neighbour.
His unrequited love began when the two neighbours shared pleasant chats over their garden fence.
He latched on to mother-of-one Mrs Powrie after her husband died and started to leave her gifts on the fence and her garden table.
Speaking after the courts case, Mrs Powrie said she received flowers, lime pickle for a curry she was cooking and a DVD of the Bee Gees in concert.
She said: "I used to talk to him over the fence, just passing the time of day really. But then he started making quite inappropriate remarks."
To her surprise Wimpenny began declaring his undying love for her.
She said: "I told him straight away that I wasn't interested but then he gave me a big bunch of flowers.
"After that the gifts were just continuous. He would lean over the fence and leave them for me on the table. He left DVDs, one of Madonna live in concert and the other was a Bee Gees one.
"He left me plant bulbs and a tape of love songs with Barry White on and then there was the book of poems. I told him that there was no relationship and it was all in his head. But he said something like his feelings ran too deeply for him to just leave it."
She said Wimpenny's attitude later changed and he began threatening and pestering her.
Mrs Powrie said: "He is a vile man and he wouldn't leave me alone. I have lost a stone in weight since all this started and my blood pressure has gone sky high."
The police were called and, despite being warned to leave her alone, Wimpenny continued offering the presents.
Last month he sent Mrs Powrie £100 along with a copy of his winter fuel allowance and a note explaining she was welcome to 50 per cent.
Max Owen, defending Wimpenny, told Blandford Magistrates Court his client was still in love with his neighbour and would continue to be. He said: "He began to have strong feelings for her and fall in love - and still is.
"It may seem, with hindsight, that he was thoroughly deluded.
"He is sadly not over this infatuation but he accepts that he must not give her any more gifts or continue with this behaviour."
Blandford Magistrates gave Wimpenny a two-year restraining order, a two-year conditional discharge and ordered him to pay costs of £43.
load of nonsense (to use a polite turn of phrase).
.
