Stalker stood in woman's bedroom watching her sleep then ran into the sea to escape cops

A creepy trespasser broke into a woman's home and stood in her bedroom while she was asleep - then tried to escape police by running into the sea.

Gary Cooper, 34, persistently harassed the woman despite being issued a court order last year prohibiting him from contacting her. On one occasion on August 14, the victim alerted the police that Cooper was with her at Hartlepool's Headland. When officers arrived at the Brus Tunnel to apprehend him, he fled into the North Sea. A police negotiator had to be summoned to coax him out of the water.

Teesside Crown Court heard that the two had met on social media, but the woman was compelled to obtain a restraining order after Cooper threatened to break her windows in November 2023.

The pair agreed to meet on August 9 when Cooper assisted her in searching for a lost phone at Hartlepool marina. However, later that night, she awoke to find him in her bedroom, observing her as she slept, reports Teesside Live.

Days prior, while the woman was cycling home through a cemetery, Cooper whistled at her and insisted that she was going to meet someone, refusing to leave until she revealed who it was.

Cooper, also on a bicycle, trailed her home. When she asked him to depart, he picked up his bike and hurled it at her. He then forced his way into her home and pursued the woman before eventually exiting.

The court was informed that on August 12, Cooper reappeared as the victim was cycling along Throston Grange Lane and hurled insults at her.

In a statement read to the court, the victim revealed that the harassment had impacted her mental health and led to a diagnosis of depression. She shared with the court: "The incident where he chased me in my house affected me the most. Since he's been arrested, I feel a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. If he were out of custody, I'd feel as though I'd be constantly looking over my shoulder, waiting for him to appear."

Cooper, from Chester Road, Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to five counts of breaching a restraining order. He had previously been found guilty of violating the order on August 5 and November 23, of the previous year.

In 2022, he faced charges for assaulting two police officers. Defending, Philip Morley informed the court that Cooper was about to commence an alcohol treatment programme - previously ordered by the court - when he was remanded in prison. Mr Morley stated: "I've spoken to him and he understands that he's not to have any contact with this lady."

Judge Thomas Mitchell noted that the offences involved "threats, an invasion of privacy of the victim's home and an element of obsession". He sentenced Cooper to 26 months in prison and issued an indefinite restraining order preventing him from contacting his victim.