AN ESTRANGED husband has been banned from the north Carlisle supermarket where his wife works after he flouted a court order designed to stop him stalking her.

Alan Doran, 59, committed the offence by repeatedly calling his daughter in an attempt to get a message to his wife Alison, the city's Rickergate court heard.

The stalking protection order he was given last September forbids him from contacting his wife – either directly or indirectly through somebody else. Nor is he now allowed to go to his wife's workplace, the Morrisons store on Kingstown Road.

In one of the calls he made to his daughter, the city’s Rickergate court heard, Doran told her: “Ask your mam if I can come home.”

The defendant, of Richmond Green, Carlisle, admitted breaching the stalking protection order. He was made subject to the two-year order on September 27 last year. It forbids any contact with Mrs Doran, either directly or indirectly.

“On Friday, December 22, he persistently tried to call his daughter an excessive number of times, to which she did not respond,” said George Shelley, prosecuting.

It was after one of those unanswered calls that Doran left the voicemail.

In an impact statement, Mrs Doran said she had felt vulnerable and unprotected given that her husband had breached the order designed to protect her.

She said she was left frightened because a court order meant to protect her had failed to do so.“I don’t feel that Alan will give up trying to get me. I am frightened of Alan and what he might do.”

She described her husband as a “manipulative opportunist,” saying she could not have any peace of mind or quality of life.

Mrs Doran felt nervous when she walked to work because her husband knew her schedule and routine. “I am frightened of seeing him in person,” she added.

Defence lawyer Lauren Heasley told the court there needed to be a background report prepared by the Probation Service before sentence is passed.

District Judge John Temperley adjourned sentence until April 29 so that can happen. In the meantime, he reminded Doran to have no contact with his wife except through solicitors for divorce purposes.

He pointed out that Doran should not go the Morrisons store in north Carlisle where his wife works, though the prosecutor said there was no direct evidence before the court that he had done this. “If you breach [those conditions] you could be arrested and lose your bail,” warned the District Judge.