A nurse has won a restraining order against her estranged husband after he bombarded her with messages, cards and gifts in a vain bid to save their crumbling marriage. Corrine Henshall went to police after former chauffeur Neil Henshall left her an ornamental crystal cat by her back door along with a wedding anniversary card and later a second goodwill message saying ''I just want my beautiful wife back'.
During his doomed four month campaign to win back his spouse Henshall, 62, from Macclesfield, Cheshire bombarded her with messages pleading with her to give their seven year marriage another go and said he had got himself a new job and a car. He also confronted her when he saw her out with a male friend saying: ''You finished with me for that?''
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Mrs Henshall eventually started timing shopping trips to avoid bumping into her husband and changed her mobile phone. At Warrington magistrates court Henshall admitted stalking and was banned from contacting his wife for two years under the terms of a restraining order.
Joshua Sanderson-Kirk, prosecuting, said Henshall had been in a relationship with Mrs Henshall for nine years and had been married for seven. After a break up he said they got back together in September 2020 though they lived separately with Mr Henshall visiting for a couple of hours in the evenings.
However, in June last year, Mrs Henshall who is in her 50s decided to end the relationship after “he ranted at her during an evening meal”, the prosecutor said. “She really wanted nothing more to do with him whatsoever,” Mr Sanderson-Kirk said.
''However he bombarded with messages and she eventually blocked him on July 20 from texting or ringing her. Even then he still tried to contact her.
“There were numerous calls during the night, he would phone her house phone as well as her mobile. She changed her mobile and did not have a call history because of this."
Referring to an incident on July 6, Mr Sanderson-Kirk said she was in her bedroom at 11.30pm, when she heard a noise coming from outside and saw movement through the glass door. “She knocked numerous times on the glass door but the person did not acknowledge her," he said.
“She opened the window and shouted ‘What are you doing?’ A person jumped up and she saw it was the defendant.
“He had brought an anniversary card. She said it was not welcome. She said she did not want him and warned him not to do it again.
“She discovered that he had left a gift hanging from the handle on the back door, it was a crystal cat and a card. It stated that he wanted her back.” The court heard Mrs Henshall initially did not want her husband prosecuted and simply wanted contact to cease but she went to police after he sent another card with the image of a cat on September 4.
“The card said he had a new job and a car,” Mr Sanderson-Kirk said, “It said he wanted his beautiful wife back.” There was a further incident the following day, when Henshall saw his estranged wife at an Aldi food store where she was waiting in line for a taxi.
''He insisted on giving her a lift but she refused. A few weeks later on September 22, Mrs Henshall had met with a male friend, his child and grandchild before they went to a bar in Macclesfield town centre.
'As they were getting out of the car, she saw Neil walking down the street. She said Neil approached the car and she described her heart sinking. He said to her, ‘You finished with me for that?’
“She did not want to engage with that and had to explain what had happened to her male friend later." The court was told Henshall had also gone into the bar but was told to leave.
"He was said to have sent a further message saying 'I loved you so much'. There is some degree of stress suffered by Mrs Henshall as regards to this.”
Henshall had a previous conviction for harassment from 1999 and in 2019 was banned from driving for 20 months after he was caught driving his BMW 318 whilst more than twice the alcohol limit. It is believed he is now dating another woman.
His lawyer Miss Lesley Herman said: “The defendant's intentions were not malicious. He took the anniversary gift and the cards were complimentary. He had not understood the signals.”
“Stalking has different connotations for people. Though we know there is very little difference between stalking and harassment, to lots of people it seems much worse. The defendant did not accept that he was stalking her but certainly, he accepts it could be harassment.
'That he has always accepted what he had done, but not that it amounted to stalking. But when we all got together and it was explained to him he pleaded guilty. She was not forced to give evidence."
Ms Herman went on to explain that the defendant's drink driving conviction was “the beginning of the end for him” adding: “He was a driver but during Covid he had real problems with isolation and drinking too much.
“I am happy to say that he has got another job as a site manager. Things are looking up for him.”
JPs also sentenced Henshall to a 24-month community order, including 30 days of a 'building better relationships' course and 15 days of rehabilitative activities. he was also ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £545 in costs and a victim surcharge.
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