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Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Joel Leaver

Iain Lee says he was 'too scared' to take convicted stalker Alex Belfield to court himself

Iain Lee says he was "too scared" to take former BBC radio presenter Alex Belfield to court, claiming that the convicted stalker made his life "miserable".

Belfield, 42, was sentenced to more than five years in prison on Friday after being found guilty of stalking four people, including the TV presenter Jeremy Vine, 57.

It came following a trial at Nottingham Crown Court, during which the court heard that Belfield had repeatedly posted or sent abusive messages, videos and emails.

Belfield - who runs a YouTube channel - was found guilty of stalking Vine, radio host Bernie Keith, videographer Ben Hewis and blogger Philip Dehany, as reported by Nottinghamshire Live.

Alex Belfield has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for stalking offences (PA)

Lee has referred to himself as one of Belfield's victims, but said in a recent video on YouTube that he had been "too scared" to take the former BBC Radio Leeds presenter to court.

I'm a Celebrity alum Iain tweeted following the sentencing on Friday: "Alex Belfield made my life miserable for ten years. I considered suicide."

He also issued a message to people questioning his behaviour, saying in a recent video: "I've had lots of people on Twitter saying you should get over it, you should let this go, are you obsessed? And telling me how to behave."

"As a victim, don't tell victims how to behave. Whatever you're going through as a victim, however you're behaving, is absolutely right," he further commented in the video.

Iain Lee has said that Belfield made his life 'miserable' (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Addressing Belfield's supporters, he commented: "You don't have any impact on me. I'm just blocking, blocking, blocking. Leave your comments, they will get deleted."

Iain - whose career has seen him host shows on talkRADIO - said in response to people telling him to how to act: "No. I'm doing exactly what I need to do to survive."

The video also saw him thank "the other victims who are remaining in the shadows" but who have reached out to him. "If you ever feel like going public, I'd happily hold your hand," he said.

Belfield was found guilty of stalking four people (PA)

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Belfield was found guilty of causing serious alarm or distress to two victims. He was also found guilty of "simple" stalking in relation to Vine and theatre blogger Dehany.

He was handed two-and-a-half years for the charge concerning BBC Radio Northampton presenter Keith and a consecutive two-and-a-half year sentence over the stalking charge relating to videographer Hewis.

Jeremy Vine was among the victims who Belfield was found guilty of stalking (PA)

Belfield was given a 13 week sentence for the offence relating to Vine alongside a consecutive 13 weeks for that related to Dehany.

It's been reported that he will serve half on all four charges that he was convicted of and the four victims have been granted restraining orders by the judge.

The outlet reports that the judge also made indefinite restraining orders in relation to other complainants concerning four charges that Belfield was found not guilty on.

If you're struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email jo@samaritans.org or visit their site to find your local branch.

Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@mirror.co.uk or call us direct 0207 29 33033.

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