A woman who was banned from contacting her ex after stabbing him was found hiding behind bins outside his home.
Just three days after Ashley Simpson was given a suspended sentence and a restraining order for plunging a knife into her then-boyfriend's leg and arm because he "stayed on a video call to a female friend for too long", she repeatedly tried to call him on social media. A court heard that the victim didn't answer the calls as he was asleep but found out about them the following morning.
However, just days after that failed attempt to speak to her ex, Simpson turned up at his home address and was spotted by a neighbour hiding behind a wheelie bin. The police attended and arrested the 30-year-old at the scene and she immediately admitted she was banned from being there.
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Now, Simpson, of Ryal Walk, in Kenton, has been given yet another chance after she pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching a restraining order. Giving her a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for 21 months Judge Julie Clemitson said she had avoided jail by "the slightest of margins".
Judge Clemitson said: "While there was no direct contact or threats by you, your actions in lurking around, hiding outside his house, must have caused him considerable alarm not knowing why you were there or what your intentions were. Your behaviour in the days following your initial sentence, having been in custody for breaching your bail conditions, make it not surprising that [the victim] is extremely concerned by your actions and they had a considerable impact upon him."
Newcastle Crown Court heard that Simpson was given a suspended sentence and was made subject of a five-year restraining order on November 16 last year. In the early hours of November 19, just three days later, she used her step father's Facebook account to make a number of voice calls to her now-ex partner, who didn't answer because he was asleep.
Then, on November 24, Simpson attended his address. Neil Pallister, prosecuting, said: "[The victim] received a telephone call from a neighbour saying a woman was hiding between bins outside his home address in Washington.
"Given that information, he believed it to be the defendant and phoned the police. Upon an officer attending, he found the defendant hiding between two wheelie bins at the front of [the victim's] address. The defendant was frank and made admissions in interview."
In a statement, the victim said: "I live in fear that Ashley will attend my address. I check spots where she might be hiding daily, especially the bins. I have had to change my routine and I'm not comfortable leaving my home. I suffer from anxiety and depression. I had struggled since the assault and Ashley turning up at my address only made things worse for me."
The court was told that Simpson was suffering from mental health issues at the time, which she was now on the appropriate medication for, and was drunk. However, she was "extremely remorseful" and had been complying well with the Probation Service since she was sentenced in November.
Rachel Hedworth, defending, added: "After her release from custody in November, she was utterly overwhelmed with guilt about what she had done. Her way of trying to apologise was trying to make contact with her ex."
Simpson's original suspended sentence was also lengthened from an operational period of 18 months to 24 months and she was ordered to do 120 hours of unpaid work.
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