A woman who was terrorised by an abusive ex who threatened to kill her after she caught him cheating has spoken of her ordeal.
James Casey and Keeley Wood had been together since they were teenagers but she ended the relationship after discovering he was seeing other women.
After being dumped, Casey bombarded Keeley, 28, with hundreds of calls and threats, which left her afraid to leave the house or go to work.
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During one incident - captured on Keeley's CCTV camera - Casey was seen making an 'I'm watching you' gesture through her window in the early hours of the morning.
He had earlier told her 'I'm coming to get you' and 'I'm going to come and kill you'.
Keeley, from Bacup, said: "The irony is incredible. James was not interested in me when we were together. Yet after I finished it, he refused to leave me alone.
"Saddest of all, our daughter said to me: 'Daddy is a bad man,' and that broke my heart." The pair met as young teenagers in their local pizza shop in Bolton.
Keeley, who works as a driving instructor, explained: "I was 15, James was nearly three years older. He was really good-looking and very charming and charismatic. I turned 16 soon after and we began dating."
Keeley suspected James was being unfaithful to her, but she chose to give him the benefit of the doubt.
She said: "He had a way of getting round me. He'd buy me flowers and chocolates and he would worm his way back into my affections with his puppy dog eyes. I couldn't stay mad with him for long."
The couple moved in together after Keeley bought her own home in 2015 and had a daughter in 2017. But their relationship deteriorated, and she felt trapped.
She said: "When I was pregnant, he was very critical of me. He'd tell me I was eating too much and I was getting fat.
"He told me lies about everything. He flooded the house three times and made up silly stories each time. It was as if he had stopped being able to tell the truth.
"But always, I fell for his apology. I found it difficult to say no to him. One night, James had an accident driving my car and the police told me he had a woman in the car with him. I was heartbroken.
"But again, I forgave him. I can't explain it. I just felt like I couldn't live without him."
Last year, two women made contact with Keeley and claimed they were in a relationship with Casey. For her this was the final straw, and so she ended the relationship.
"I thought that was it," said Keeley. "I thought I'd finally got rid of him and I felt a huge relief that at last me and my daughter could move forwards."
But instead, Casey made hundreds of calls to Keeley. She says some were apologetic, others aggressive and threatening.
She said: "It was scary and stressful and also, it made no sense. James had shown little interest in family life for years but he refused to let me move on.
"The saddest thing was our daughter told me 'daddy is a bad man' and it broke my heart."
James Casey, 31, appeared before Blackburn Magistrates Court earlier this month.
In a lengthy victim impact statement, Keeley said: "Since walking away from an abusive and coercive relationship, I have been subjected to a roller-coaster of emotions for both myself and my daughter. I don't feel safe in my own home and I'm constantly looking out for him.
"I'm scared he'll never let me move on and he's said he'll never let me be happy. Our daughter refers to daddy as 'a bad man'."
She told the court she had been forced to change her daughter's nursery for fear of Casey turning up and felt trapped and isolated.
The court heard Casey, who gave his address in court as St Helen's Close in Cockermouth, Cumbria, sent numerous threatening messages to Keeley, including 'I will follow you' and 'Do you think the courts will stop me?'
Casey, a plumber by trade, was arrested on Boxing Day of last year after Keeley saw him in her back garden. He had earlier told her 'I'm coming to get you' and 'I'm going to come and kill you'.
Casey, who pleaded guilty to breaching a non-molestation order and harassment with violence, was given a 26-week custodial sentence for each offence, to run concurrently. Magistrates said they were prepared to suspend the sentence for two years to allow Casey to take part in a Building Better Relationships course.
Casey, who the court heard has 14 previous convictions for harassment, driving without due care and attention and failing to stop, was also given an indefinite restraining order, preventing him from contacting Keeley or approaching her home address, told to pay £300 costs and a £128 victim surcharge.
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