A former firefighter who waged a two-year campaign of harassment against his next-door neighbour has been warned that he faces jail.

Brian Pemberton, 58, was yesterday found guilty of harassing Kathryn McKay between May 2003 and June 2005.

District judge David Thomas, who had heard how Pemberton, of Ridgewood Close, Baildon, spied on Mrs McKay and made a barrage of nuisance phone calls, adjourned sentencing for psychiatric and pre-sentence reports but told Pemberton he could not rule out a custodial sentence at a hearing in June.

Prosecutor Emma Downing had told the trial at Bradford Magistrates' Court that Pemberton had taunted Mrs McKay with a practical joke machine that made vomiting noises after he found out she had suffered from an eating disorder.

The court was also told that Pemberton played the Death March excessively loud when Mrs McKay returned from visiting her terminally-ill father.

Mrs McKay said the pair had been friends and that she had looked after him when he had become agoraphobic.

But their relationship soured when he came back from holiday with a new wife and then started to ignore Mrs McKay.

Mrs McKay described how Pemberton then harassed her almost daily. He has a previous conviction for a similar offence.

Pemberton had claimed the allegations were lies and said it had been Mrs McKay who had been harassing him because she was jealous.

But District Judge Thomas said these were merely attempts to discredit Mrs McKay. Passing judgement, he said he could not be sure each specific incident took place but added: "Taking all the matters together it's clear the defendant embarked on a course of action against Mrs McKay." He told him: "I convicted you of serious matters. I cannot rule out a custodial sentence."

Speaking afterwards, Mrs McKay, 51, spoke of her relief at the verdict.

She said: "I feel great about the guilty verdict. There is some apprehension until the sentencing goes through it's not guaranteed that he will go to jail for what he has done.

"As long as he resides next door to me I can't feel safe, secure or private in my home. I don't think that what's happened so far will stop him.

"I will never feel comfortable or at ease in my own home. My quality of life has diminished I'll never feel secure making a phone call, discussing anything private or personal in the house."

She said the harassment had made her physically ill: "It affected my health a great deal. He knew the sort of thing likely to upset me and he used that.

"I started getting anonymous phone calls on the land line from a withheld number. I ended up having to change my number about six or seven times."

"It would be quiet for a little time but then it would start up again. I had no idea how he would find out my number. He then started with my mobile number and my daughter as well."

Mrs McKay, a senior auditor for Halifax Bank of Scotland in Halifax, said it started to affect her work.

"I was having to manage on three or four hours sleep, work full-time, look after my daughter and visit my dad who was ill at the time. It had a major impact at work because I would keep bursting into tears. I couldn't function, I couldn't think straight.

"I was really fortunate my managers were really supportive. They offered to provide professional counselling."

She added: "At the back end of 2005 I was on the point of going under but, I thought, if I caved in he won and I couldn't let that happen."

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