Saturday 6 August 2022 12:22 PM Stalker who met victim on Plenty of Fish hid in her loft for 10 days before ... trends now
An obsessive stalker bombarded his former lover with texts while lurking in her loft for 10 days before police officers eventually found him.
Ben Gould, 29, of Cambourne, Cornwall, terrorised his ex-girlfriend Hayley Smith, 37 for a year after the pair first crossed paths on the dating website Plenty of Fish.
Despite their relationship initially looking rosy, Ms Smith broke the brooding romance off after she discovered dog-loving Gould was still living with another woman when they first met.
Gould then launched his obsessive campaign of stalking, including following Ms Smith when she stayed at the homes of friends and families, bombarding her with texts and calls and even breaking into her caravan.
Feeling powerless, she alerted the police, who said they couldn't locate the elusive Gould and issued a warrant for his arrest.
Officers still couldn't find him even after he had messaged Ms Smith telling her he was 'watching her'. It was only 10 days later when he was finally removed from his chilling hidey hole - the loft of her home - that he was arrested.
Ben Gould, 29, of Cambourne, Cornwall, (left) terrorised his ex-girlfriend Hayley Smith, 37 for a year after the pair first crossed paths on the dating website Plenty of Fish
The pair first matched on the dating website Plenty of Fish, where Ms Smith was impressed by the fact Gould was a father and a dog-lover too.
They went on their first date in a pub in 2018 and instantly hit things off.
Hayley said: 'Things moved quickly and soon after I introduced Ben to my children. He was great with them and they adored him.'
After moving in together in June 2019, Gould's ex messaged Ms Smith revealing he had actually been living with her when the couple had first met online.
Hayley revealed she was 'heartbroken' to hear this, and confronted Gould who denied everything, spelling the end of their brief fling.
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