Victim Theresa Helstrip has called for the scourge of stalking to be taken more seriously, as new crime figures revealed it was on the increase.

Home Office statistics showed nine per cent of both women and men had been stalked in the previous 12 months.

It was the most common form of "intimate violence" - defined as domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking - experienced by both genders, the British Crime Survey revealed.

Stalking was experienced by 8.7 per cent of women in 2004/05, compared with 7.8 per cent in 2001, and for men it rose from 5.8 per cent to 8.7 per cent in the same period.

The Home Office defined stalking as two or more incidents which lead to fear, alarm or distress, such as unwanted letters, phone calls or following.

Mrs Helstrip, a mother-of-two, has been through seven years of hell at the hands of stalker Stephen Moss.

Her nightmare started with a chance meeting with the 51-year-old at a supermarket.

Since then, he has continually followed her and bombarded her with letters.

Not even a jail term and a restraining order banning Moss from contacting his victim stopped his pursuit of her.

Moss, of Newborough Street, York, again breached the restraining order only six days after leaving jail.

He is now in custody awaiting sentence at crown court.

Mrs Helstrip said: "I think the police should take stalking more seriously, because a lot of the time they think people make it up.

"They seem to think it's not a serious crime because often no violence has occurred.

"Stalking causes a lot of psychological harm. It makes you look over your shoulder and you become a bit paranoid."

The survey found that of those women who had been stalked, 42 per cent were pursued by a stranger, 34 per cent by an acquaintance, 33 per cent by a partner and five per cent by another family member.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: "Stalking is something the Government will be keeping a close watch on and taking advice on how best to intervene.

"The technical definition is quite broad, ranging from receipt of two unwanted letters right up to the most serious cases."

She pointed out the 1997 Harassment Act carried penalties of a six-month imprisonment for harassment and up to five years for conduct leading someone to fear violence.

Updated: 08:29 Saturday, May 27, 2006