A RESPECTED Romsey tutor and author could be facing prison after admitting a campaign of stalking and harassment against a Hampshire charity shop worker.

Graham Steed, 68, admitted stalking the mother for nearly two years, during which time he hired a private investigator to follow and take photos of her and a partner, and tried to install covert cameras in a neighbour's garden.

Steed also visited her on numerous occasions at the charity shop in Bishop's Waltham where she worked, despite agreeing to stay away, and sent letters of complaint to her employer, which eventually resulted in her being asked to leave her job.

Basingstoke Magistrates' Court heard how Steed, of Holybourne Road, had been a tutor for the mother's autistic daughter, and after his services were no longer needed, he had remained a friend of the family.

Prosecutor David Foster told magistrates that after a while the charity worker felt the relationship had crossed a line and asked him to stop contacting her, which he agreed to.

However, he continued to visit her at the charity shop and on one occasion asked her for a selfie, which she felt pressured to take, that he later sent to her husband.

He also sent photos taken by the private investigator of her with her partner to her husband, and on one occasion she spotted Steed "commando crawling towards the car" she was in with her partner.

In a victim impact statement the mother said: "It was extremely distressing, he became obsessed with me.

"Whenever I'm out and about, I'm always looking over my shoulder. I'm in fear of my life."

Mr Foster added that the victim now regularly has to check the locks on her windows and doors, has her security light turned on constantly and often goes without eating.

Magistrates have now sent the case to Winchester Crown Court, where Steed will be sentenced for stalking with serious harm or distress.

He is due to appear before a judge on Friday, January 26.