Image offer, PA Media
Image caption, BBC presenter Jeremy Vine is among eight alleged stalking victims
Broadcaster Jeremy Vine became visibly upset as he described the outcomes of allegedly being stalked by a light BBC radio presenter.
Mr Vine acknowledged Alex Belfield became “fixated”, many times accusing him of stealing £1,000 of BBC cash.
He acknowledged “the saddest thing” turned into when one among Mr Belfield’s followers known as him a “thieving toe-rag” below a Fb tribute to his late father.
Mr Belfield, from Nottingham, denies eight counts of stalking.
At Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday, Mr Vine’s inform broke as he recalled the Fb message about his late father.
“The saddest thing that happened at some level of all of this turned into when I posted a tribute to my father [who died with Parkinson’s in 2018] on Fb, and the first message I purchased turned into ‘What would your father own acknowledged if he had identified his son turned into a thieving toe-rag?'” Mr Vine acknowledged.
“I would possibly now not handle it. I would possibly now not handle it.”
Mr Belfield, who turned into beforehand a presenter at BBC Radio Leeds but now runs a YouTube channel, is accused of stalking and harassing eight other folks including Mr Vine.
He’s now not accused of physically stalking them, but the prosecution boom he stressed them by many times sending emails, posting on social media and making YouTube movies, and that this amounted to stalking.
‘Now not a common troll’
Giving proof, Mr Vine described it as “esteem an avalanche of hatred you gain hit by”, and “fully Olympic-level stalking, even for broadcasting”.
Describing his response to an email that Mr Belfield sent to him and his Radio 2 programme personnel, he acknowledged: “I believed this guy is harmful. I even own within the previous had a bodily stalker who adopted me. That’s a picnic when put next with this guy.”
At one level, Mr Vine acknowledged he learn a weblog post that had been written by one other of the alleged victims, theatre critic Philip Dehany.
“What I admired about him is as antagonistic to working away, Dehany logged every little thing, and he build it in a weblog,” Mr Vine acknowledged.
“And as I learn this weblog I realised for the first time we’re going via serious illegal activity. That is now not a common troll here, here is the Jimmy Savile of trolling.”
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Image caption, Alex Belfield is representing himself at some level of his trial at Nottingham Crown Court
The costs confronted by Mr Belfield, who is representing himself, quilt a duration of time of extra than eight years, and are as follows:
Stalking Rozina Breen between 25 November 2012 and 31 March 2021Stalking Liz Green between 25 November 2012 and 31 March 2021Stalking Helen Thomas between 25 November 2012 and 31 March 2021Stalking Stephanie Hirst between 1 June 2017 and 31 March 2021Stalking Bernard Spedding between 25 November 2012 and 31 March 2021 Stalking Ben Hewis between 29 September 2019 and 31 March 2021Stalking Philip Dehany between 3 November 2019 and 31 March 2021 Stalking Jeremy Vine between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021Mr Vine acknowledged he first became privy to Mr Belfield in 2020, when anyone told him about a video via which Mr Belfield talked about him.
Within the video, Mr Belfield referred to Mr Vine the utilization of a converse observe, which Mr Vine described to the court docket as “the C-observe” and “the C-bomb”.
‘Smirking within the direction of’
“I need I hadn’t had a stare upon it because staring at this man is esteem swimming in sewage,” he acknowledged.
“That’s the very first thing I observed by this man and I learned it graceful and distressing, and it made me timid.
“By the technique, I know the defendant is smirking within the direction of my proof nonetheless it would possibly per chance most likely perhaps additionally now not discontinuance me.”
Quite loads of films made by Mr Belfield were performed to the court docket. In them, he many times accused Mr Vine of stealing £1,000 of BBC licence price payers’ cash.
This cash turned into in terms of a memorial fund for a radio executive known as John Myers, who Mr Vine had been associates with.
The court docket heard the BBC had donated £1,000 to the fund, some surplus cash turned into given to charity, and Mr Vine therefore presented Mr Myers’ widow with a cheque at the Arias – an awards ceremony for the radio industry.
“He’s making an are attempting to strip away my repute for honesty and he is attacking me via a memorial for a friend of mine, accusing me of stealing from my friend’s memorial,” Mr Vine acknowledged. “It would possibly not gain any worse. Or now not it is disgusting.”
Mr Vine told the court docket he takes defamation action in opposition to Mr Belfield, which he acknowledged “will happen subsequent three hundred and sixty five days”.
Image caption, Mr Belfield turned into beforehand a presenter at BBC Radio Leeds
Mr Belfield also told his followers he would give them “a thousand pennies” to phone Jeremy Vine’s radio point out or Channel 5 point out, gain are residing on air, then request: “Alex Belfield needs to know the save the thousand kilos is that you took from the licence price payer.”
“We were fortunate that it never happened,” Mr Vine told the court docket.
“I assemble now not perceive how we managed to gain via that duration because I believed it would possibly per chance most likely perhaps happen, and I knew if it happened Belfield would select the clip and it would possibly per chance most likely perhaps trudge crazy on social media.”
‘Fully faux’
Mr Vine acknowledged his family had also been affected.
In one video, Mr Belfield accused Mr Vine of making one among his daughters a director of his firm so he would possibly additionally pay much less tax.
Mr Vine told the court docket this turned into “fully and completely faux”.
“That you simply would possibly additionally’t be a director till you would additionally very effectively be 18 years of age,” he acknowledged.
“To boom my 10-three hundred and sixty five days-light daughter turned into a director of my firm wasn’t appropriate and can never own been appropriate.”
Mr Vine told the court docket he feared Mr Belfield or one among his followers would turn up at their house, and his family had a represent of him in their hallway for a whereas so they are going to additionally recognise him.
Mr Vine feared one among the followers would possibly additionally come with “a knife, or own acid or something”.
“I would possibly now not eat or sleep for a time, and the excellent thing that lifted the sphere for me turned into the actions of the appealing police in this house who bought alive to, because they are going to additionally look this turned into prison,” Mr Vine acknowledged.
Image caption, Mr Vine agreed to be wicked-examined by Mr Belfield
Whereas Mr Belfield is representing himself at some level of the trial, a barrister has been appointed by the court docket in repeat to wicked-glance witnesses.
Nonetheless, the court docket heard the barrister turned into sick, so Mr Vine agreed that Mr Belfield would possibly additionally wicked-glance him.
Mr Belfield requested Mr Vine: “You’ve got described me as the Jimmy Savile of trolling, which is already a headline in a nationwide newspaper. Why did you conflate me to Jimmy Savile?”
Mr Vine replied: “Because that’s what you would additionally very effectively be. That you simply would possibly additionally very effectively be the Jimmy Savile of trolling.”
Mr Belfield acknowledged: “Jimmy Savile turned into a prolific paedophile who worked for the BBC. Are you suggesting I’m a prolific paedophile?”
Mr Vine replied: “The predominant phrase is ‘of trolling’.”
Mr Belfield also requested Mr Vine about the Fb post in terms of his father.
He acknowledged: “The handiest time you cried in this court docket turned into over your father. That wasn’t a message from me… I’ve never made a enlighten about your father, own I?”
Mr Vine replied: “I assemble now not know.”
‘Quiet skittish’
Mr Belfield urged that Mr Vine turned into now not skittish of him.
Mr Vine replied: “I’m staggered. Or now not it is graceful to be wicked-examined by the accused stalker but for a person to recount I can not own been skittish of him is staggering.
“Yes, I turned into skittish of you, and I tranquil am.”
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