A mum told of her horror when she found her violent ex was spying on her using a camera hidden in her wardrobe.
Nicola Robinson, 36, was horrified by the discovery after her nine-year relationship with Jamie Robinson, 32, ended in June 2021.
He attacked her twice in the following weeks - pushing her and strangling her, she claims, at her home.
But she later became suspicious she was being ‘watched’ after Robinson started turning up unexpectedly, between June and October, last year, she said.
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The creep even stalked Nicola to a hotel room where she was staying with a friend and checked himself into an adjacent room.
Robinson, a tattooist, appeared at Northampton Magistrates’ Court where he admitted actual bodily harm, common assault and stalking involving fear of violence.
He was jailed for four years at Northampton Crown Court on January 20 this year.
Despite being 'relieved' by his sentencing, Nicola has been left 'shaken'.
Nicola, a support worker, said: "I was so shocked to find a camera in my wardrobe.
"It felt such an invasion of my privacy and left me feeling unsafe at home.
"I don't know he fitted the device, but he listened in on numerous day-to-day conversations I had with friends and family.
"I couldn’t believe my ex would do something like that. I'm still very shocked, but I'm relieved he's out of my life.
"I'm glad I don't have to keep looking over my shoulder. I finally feel free again."
Nicola met Robinson met through friends during a night out in August 2013 and they married on November 2016.
She said: "He was great to begin with, but I saw a different side to him.
"I didn’t always know what he was up to, and I started to have my doubt and mistrust him."
Despite trying to make things work, Nicola broke things off with Robinson in July 2021 after five years of marriage.
It was just after the breakup that Nicola noticed her ex 'turning up' to places unexpectedly.
She started to feel as though Robinson was 'watching' and 'following' her.
Nicola said: "I started to get suspicious that he was keeping tabs on me.
"He kept turning up places and knew where I was going to be.
"He seemed to know about conversations I had in private, in my own home.
"I fell out with friends because things they had told me in confidence were being spread around.
"I didn't feel like I could trust anyone.
"It was incredibly isolating."
Robinson followed Nicola to a hotel where she was staying with a friend and booked himself into an adjacent room without her knowledge.
Nicola said: "There was a knock at the door and I couldn't believe he was there.
"I immediately ran to reception, and we moved rooms, but I was worried he would find us."
Things also took a violent turn when attacked Nicola on two occasions.
She said: "When we first broke up, in July 2021, I told him to pack up and leave.
"As I told him to hurry up, he punched me in the back of the head.
"Then just over a week later, he turned up at the house in the morning.
"I had been out with friends having a takeaway the night before.
"He asked me where I had been, and I refused to tell him - and he strangled me.
"It was terrifying - I didn’t know what he would be capable of."
Nicola went to the police about the attacks and after sweeping the house, the hidden camera was discovered in her bedroom wardrobe.
She said: "We searched everywhere, and it took about eight hours to find the device.
"I couldn’t believe he had been watching me."
The counts he admitted related to actual bodily harm on July 26 2021, common assault on July 17, and stalking involving fear of violence between June 26 and October 15.
The court heard Robinson used digital devices to stalk her, including hiding a camera within her home to listen to her and record her conversations without her knowledge.
The stalking charged also related to an occasion when he followed her to a hotel room and checked himself into adjacent room with Nicola knowing.
She said: "It was quite a lengthy sentence for the charges, so I’m pleased and relieved with the outcome.
"It’s upsetting to know I spent nine years with someone who would do this to me.
"It’s a lot to get my head around but I’m doing better.
"I haven't dated anyone since - my headspace isn't there and I need to focus on myself.
"Hopefully, I can help other women spot the red flags and get out."
