Derbyshire man 'became more and more obsessive and fixated' on woman he met on Tinder

Josh Bates' casual, two-month relationship with the woman ended in January and they only saw each other a handful of times, said Annelli Pritchard, prosecuting.

They made up after she became aware a picture of her and a male friend in Tesco had been distributed by the defendant.

But after she made it “very clear” the relationship was over he continued to contact her and so she blocked his phone number and profiles on social media

Bates, aged 23, used different accounts to accuse her of being with someone else and threatened to go to a funeral she was due to attend.

"He was becoming more and more obsessive and fixated on me," she said in a statement.

“He threatened to take me to his for good.”

The court heard that Bates threatened to kidnap her and hurt a friend who lives in London.

He rang her multiple times while on drink or drugs and tried to control her by blaming her for the loss of his job.

Morgan Hogarth, mitigating, said he has no previous convictions and deserved full credit for his guilty plea.

He has mental health issues including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and he could be assessed with bi-polar disorder and autism.

Bates, of Godfrey Drive, Ilkeston, admitted stalking without fear, alarm or distress, when he appeared at Nottingham Magistrates Court, on Wednesday.

District Judge Gillian Young told him: "You have accepted responsibility for this. It was only a few days but you sent quite a lot of communications. You sent messages which were really unpleasant.

"Against that, you are just a young man and I have heard you have difficulties which get in the way of you regulating your emotions. You struggled with the end of the relationship."

She imposed a 12-month community order with 20 rehabilitation days and a two-year restraining order banning him from all contact with his victim. He was fined £100 with a £114 surcharge and £85 costs.