Former Gogglebox researcher Rachel Barnes has been jailed for stalking her police officer ex and his new girlfriend in a three-month 'surveillance operation' - including posing as a delivery driver.
The 27-year-old first began surveilling PC William Saunders after the pair met for casual sex.
The pair first met on dating website Hinge but the researcher, who worked on Gogglebox during the first series, then discovered the Swindon in Wiltshire-based police officer had started a new relationship with a new flame shortly after they first met up.
Following her discovery, Barnes started her own investigation to find out private information about the police officer's new lover.
The officer's new partner, police investigator Catherine Baird, then found herself at the heart of Barnes' offending in January 2021.
Phone records show Barnes mobile 'pinged' near her home on more than 400 occasions - but it is unclear how many times she visited the properly.
The Gogglebox researcher also made false reports to Thames Valley Police that she had allowed PC Saunders to visit her home would have put her in breach of Covid regulations.
She also created fake social media profiles and added PC Saunders, Miss Baird and her housemate and on another occasion, she posed as a delivery driver in order to get the pair to open the door.
The 27-year-old was sentenced at Swindon Crown Court having previously admitted two counts of stalking and one count of stalking causing serious alarm or distress.
Barnes was jailed her 18 months ruling the offending 'too serious' to warrant anything other than immediate custody.
Following the series of terrifying incidents, Miss Baird was forced to bring her house move forward, and had to borrow money to do so in a bid to escape the stalking.
Catherine also forked out hundreds of pounds on CCTV cameras and a Ring doorbell in a bid to secure privacy and security amid the ongoing ordeal.
In a victim impact statement, Miss Baird said she "wanted to curl up in a ball and cry and scream at this girl to just leave me alone", as the persistent harassment affected not only her work life but her personal life too.
"Prior to her inserting herself into my life, I was doing well in work and progressing well," she said.
''This has now stopped and it is all down to her fixated and obsessive behaviour."
It got so bad that Miss Baird had to take over four weeks off of work after her sergeant told her she was missing her 'spark'.
As a result of her time off, Catherine could not be supported to take her detective's qualification.
She said in the statement: "The whole ordeal of fearing my stalker knew my address caused a decline in my mental health and in turn, it affected my performance at work.
"She has impacted so many aspects of my life and I am still having to be mindful, even now.
''I have to be careful not to accidentally share my location on any phone apps- I cannot even join simple village Facebook groups for fear of her tracking me down.
"This girl's affected my mental health, given me trauma, affected my career, hindered my professional development opportunities and affected my ability to participate in my master's degree.
''This has not only impacted my life and my future, but it has also impacted my daughter's.
"The whole situation is just bizarre, but unfortunately, I know how strange some girls can be when they get jealous.
''I put it down to what this is - jealousy that I was with Will and she was not."
The court heard that Barnes breached a stalking protection order on four occasions several months after these offences.
She had been given a £100 fine at Swindon Magistrates' Court in October 2021.
Judge Peter Crabtree OBE described her stalking as having a "high degree of planning" with the "intention to cause very real distress".
The judge jailed her Barnes for 18 months, ruling the offending "too serious" to warrant anything other than immediate custody.
"I am satisfied, given the assessment of a pre-sentence report, that imprisonment is not required to protect the public'' he said.
''Additionally, there is evidence you present a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.
"The key question is whether the offences are simply too serious that only a period of immediate custody can be imposed, custody without suspension.
"In my view this is a very serious case where there are three victims of your stalking, all of whom have suffered significant harm or very significant distress.
"I conclude that only immediate custody can be justified in this case. You will go to prison for 18 months."
A restraining order was also imposed indefinitely.
