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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Kirsty McCormack

Denise Welch says 'horrendous' stalker ordeal left her 'emotionally terrorised'

Denise Welch opened up about her 'horrendous' stalker ordeal during Thursday's episode of Loose Women.

The former Coronation Street star joined Charlene White, Nadia Sawalha and Jane Moore on the ITV panel as she spoke about the recent court case.

Toraq Wyngard, 64, was sentenced to seven years and seven months at Chester Crown Court earlier this month.

The court heard that, just before 11pm on September 19 2020, Wyngard started a fire in a skip outside the home Denise shares with her husband, Lincoln Townley, in Wilmslow, Cheshire.

Speaking about the ordeal on Thursday's show, Denise said: "It's been a pretty horrendous time for everybody," before recalling what happened the night of the fire.

Denise Welch opened up about her 'horrendous' stalker ordeal during Thursday's episode of Loose Women (ITV)

Denise was in bed reading at the time when she heard a "piercing" scream and ran downstairs and found her husband and stepson in the driveway as their skip was "ablaze".

Thanks to cameras installed at their home, the perpetrator was caught on CCTV and the police arrested him just two hours later.

However, he wasn't charged and ended up being released and returned to Denise's home at a later date where he scrawled the words 'pimp' and 'witch' on her gate along with an upside down crucifix.

Denise said being stalked 'emotionally terrorises' you (ITV)

"The main thing that got us through was two ladies who were assigned to us from the Harm Reduction Unit because they were there for our emotional and physical wellbeing as a result of what happened because the guy came back.

"I was filming, I was up at 5 o'clock every morning and Lincoln got up with me every morning. We were terrified, I was terrified to go to the corner shop!" Denise continued.

"It emotionally terrorises you because Lincoln and I, as all of us, have to be apart for work reasons, and I had never ever been scared. It's completely changed that."

Loose Women airs weekdays at 12:30pm on ITV and ITV Hub.

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