A WOMAN made an impassioned plea to a court for help after her ex-boyfriend breached a restraining order made to protect her.

Nathan Sumner, of Bran in Plas Madoc, appeared at Wrexham Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

The 34-year-old had admitted at a previous hearing one offence of harassment in that he breached a restraining order imposed in July 2020 to prevent him from contacting Leah Furniss.

Justin Espie, prosecuting, told the court that Ms Furniss contacted the police to say that Sumner had been in touch with her on social media, the offences having happened on November 6 last year, then on December 29 and 30.

In a victim impact statement which was read to the court, Ms Furniss said: "Every time I see a notification on my phone, I panic.

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"I worry he might turn up at my work and I am now so paranoid, I am at my breaking point.

"I feel extremely vulnerable. I used to be extremely outgoing.

"Now, whenever I go shopping, I avoid Wrexham town centre and the outskirts because I don't want any chance of bumping into him.

"When I finished the relationship in 2019, he threatened to kill me."

In a plea to the court, she added: "Please help me, this needs to stop.

"I want to feel like me again, without feeling like I am being followed."

Stephen Edwards, defending, acknowledged that "victim personal statements can be very powerful," but he urged the Magistrates not to "lose sight" of the elements they needed to assess; namely the criminality and the defendant's culpability.

He said: "Nathan Sumner has a problem with relationships. He's not very good with them.

"The reality is that after a four year relationship with this lady, which ended three years ago, a restraining order was made which extends until July 2025.

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"He's now before the court because when at a low ebb in his life, when he'd had too much to drink, he tried on three occasions to contact Ms Furniss as he still had feelings for her.

"There was no physical contact and he has not approached or threatened her.

"We're now in the end of August 2023 and there have been no further problems with breaching the order.

The Leader:

"The best thing for both sides here is to move on with their lives, and Nathan has moved on."

The Magistrates handed down an 18 month community order with 100 hours of unpaid work, 35 sessions on a 'building better relationships' programme and 20 days of rehabilitation activity.

Sumner was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.