Former BBC presenter, Alex Belfield from Mapperley, has been jailed for five years and 26 weeks at Nottingham Crown Court after being convicted of four stalking charges against broadcasters including Jeremy Vine. Belfield, who previously presented a show for BBC Radio Leeds, was labelled “the Jimmy Savile of trolling” during a Nottingham Crown Court trial which heard he repeatedly posted or sent abusive messages, videos and emails.
Appearing at the same court for sentencing on Friday (September 16), Belfield was given a total of five years and 26 weeks in prison, of which he will serve half, on all four charges he was convicted of. The judge has made restraining orders on the four victims.
In August, Belfield was convicted of stalking to cause alarm and distress to BBC Radio Northampton's Bernie Keith, and guilty of the same charge concerning videographer Ben Hewis. He was further found guilty of "simple stalking" regarding theatre blogger Philip Dehany and to the "simple stalking" of Jeremy Vine, the presenter, broadcaster and journalist who is best known for hosting a show on BBC Radio 2.
BBC Radio Northampton presenter Bernie Keith was left feeling suicidal by a "tsunami of hate", the trial was told. Describing watching Belfield's video output as like swimming in sewage, Mr Vine said in court of the defendant’s conduct: “It felt like I had a fish hook in my face and my flesh was being torn, and the only way to avoid further pain was to stay completely still.”
Who is Alex Belfield?
Belfield is an accomplished presenter who has "worked for royalty" and presented a live programme from Ground Zero in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack. According to his BBC programme page, he has presented daily radio shows in London, Spain and Germany and over 80 stations in the UK.
Having worked in Kenya in 1999, he returned to the UK two years later and soon joined BBC Leicester. Hosting shows at BBC Bristol, BBC Radio Shropshire, BBC Hereford and Worcester, he also established a late night show for Capital Gold in Birmingham.
Belfield has reported for BBC 5Live, BBC News and BBC World, but has never been far away from controversy. During his days at Scarlet FM and Mansfield 103.2, he staged fake on-air sacking and his style was described by a listener as "moronic". In 2005, he was disciplined by Capital Gold for misogynistic comments made about a mother of three children and in 2010, was suspended by BBC Radio Leeds after making "lewd" comments about BBC Look North weather presenter Keeley Donovan.
One of Belfield's biggest career moments came in 2011, by securing the "last in-depth interview" with Jimmy Savile before his death. The interview, from the subsequently exposed paedophile, was from Savile's Leeds house, was used on BBC Radio 2 and republished in the Daily Star.
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