Midlothian cop stalked woman after Noel Gallagher gig

A POLICE officer who stalked his girlfriend after she split from him has been banned from going anywhere near her for the next two years.

PC Sam Phelps harassed his former lover by turning up at her home and sending her unwanted emails, letters and social media messages after she had finished their relationship.

The woman said Phelps behaviour was so bad that she was forced to flee a Noel Gallagher gig in Glasgow and asked police officers to drive her to her home 50 miles away in Midlothian.

The woman told Edinburgh Sheriff Court last week she “did not feel safe” during the gig and that the following day he had sent and made scores of texts and phone calls as well as turning up at a relative’s homes in a bid to find her.

The cop also harassed her by turning up at her home late at night and shining a torch into her bedroom as she and her children slept.

Following the stalking campaign police agreed to install an alarm at her home and she cut off all contact with 38-year-old Phelps.

The constable, who had ten years service with Police Scotland, was found guilty of causing the woman fear and alarm following a trial in front of Sheriff Adrian Cottam last month (DEC).

He returned to the capital court last Tuesday for sentencing.

Solicitor Advocate Joseph Cahill, defending, asked the sheriff to hand out an absolute discharge to his client to minimise any impact on his position with Police Scotland.

But Sheriff Cottam told the disgraced cop: “I did not find evidence to satisfy me that you intentionally caused fear and alarm but this case is still well beyond a trivial matter.

“I’m not completely convinced the pattern of [previously] getting back together following texts is mitigatory.

“But the accused clearly ought to have known his behaviour would have caused fear and alarm not least because he knew she was vulnerable and had made her position clear.

“He was actions were motivated by his own fears about whatever might have been said by her to the police.”

The sheriff dished out a two-year non-harassment order and fined Phelps £500 to mark the offence.

Phelps, from Dalkeith, Midlothian, now faces disgrace after the court was told his employment future with Police Scotland now looks “very bleak”.

A Police Scotland spokesperson confirmed Phelps is currently suspended from the force pending an internal police misconduct hearing.

Giving evidence behind a screen last month, the woman said she and Phelps had been in a stormy six year relationship which began in 2010 and had ended in August 2016.

The mum-of-two said their tryst came to an end while they attended former Oasis star Noel Gallagher’ s concert at the SSE Hydro on August 26, 2016.

Phelps and the woman had been staying at a Glasgow hotel before the concert but she felt so scared during the show she sought solace from two police officers who were on duty at the sold out 13,000-seater venue.

The 35-year-old said: “He had been really different during the day, but we agreed to draw a line and go to the concert.

“But during the concert I just didn’t feel safe and wanted to go back to the hotel.

“I spoke to the police and they took me back to the hotel to collect my things and then took me back to Edinburgh.

“The next day he went to my family’s home and then turned up at my house [looking for me]. He banged on my door but I didn’t let him in or respond to any of his texts.”

Phelps then continued to harass the woman turning up at shops she was attending and sending a barrage of texts and phone calls over the following days.

She said the cop also turned up at her home late at night and shone a torch into her bedroom which had left her children “in bed and scared”.

The following day he posted a begging letter through her door which left the woman “quite afraid” that he would come back.

The local government officer added: “I was scared. Normally we would have got back together but I was adamant this time.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We note the outcome at court and a report will be submitted to the Deputy Chief Constable for his consideration.”

The spokesperson confirmed Phelps is still currently under suspension from his position within the force.

Phelps was found guilty of causing the woman fear and alarm by repeatedly sending her emails, messages on social media, texts and make unwanted phone calls and send letters to her at her home address between August 30 and September 7, 2016.