A SERIAL pest has been locked up for nearly six months because he will not leave his former partner alone.

York magistrates banned Barry Docherty, 24, from having anything to do with his ex-girlfriend by making a restraining order against him in September.

But since then, he has repeatedly contacted her, shouting insults at her in the street and threatening her via an internet chatroom, prosecutor Colette Dixon told the magistrates.

He was on bail for breaking the restraining order for two of the offences and last year served 20 weeks in jail for harassing her and pestering police with 50 nuisance 999 calls in one hour. Later this month the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will urge magistrates to make an antisocial behaviour order against Docherty in a further bid to make him behave.

The CPS is deciding exactly what terms it wants included on the ASBO.

Docherty, of Tennyson Avenue, Clifton, denied three charges of breaking a restraining order, but was convicted at trial. He was jailed for 24 weeks.

Mrs Dixon said of the girlfriend: “Since the ending of the relationship, she has had problems with the defendant.”

On January 11, she saw Docherty on the opposite pavement when she got off a bus in Blossom Street.

He crossed to her pavement, followed her and insulted her as she walked away from him. Mrs Dixon said: “She was scared as to what the defendant might do.”

Docherty was arrested and sent in custody to the magistrates who released him on bail the next day.

On January 28, he contacted her through the MSN Messenger system calling himself “Besimple” and using a second username which included a swear word. When she asked who the chatroom user was, he sent her a picture of himself and a threat.

On February 12, he shouted an insult at her as he cycled past where she was standing at a bus stop in Blossom Street.

For Docherty, Vicky Latham said the contacts were not serious and the two in Blossom Street came about by accident.