Businesswoman Bedale sentenced to intimidation of ex-partner

A Bedale businesswoman has been jailed for launching a stalking campaign against her ex-partner, breaking into his home and threatening to burn it down.

Sarah Jones, 38, refused to accept. Chris Cumming, 37, a successful luxury horse trailer dealer, wanted to end their five-year relationship.

So she began trying to ruin his life through ruthless intimidation in a case described by a judge as the worst of its kind he had ever encountered.

For nine months, Jones tormented Mr Cumming by breaking into his home, bombarding him with hundreds of threatening messages, attempting to set fire to one of his valuable horse trailers, attacking him on his own property and threatening to destroy his farm. to set fire to £600,000.

Jones ran a livery and riding equipment shop in Bedale

She is also well known in the show jumping world for producing and selling top show jumping horses and has also worked in the racing world, transporting horses for Middleham trainer Charlie Johnston of Johnston Racing.

Mr Cumming described allowing Jones and her teenage daughters to move in with him as ‘the worst decision of my life’.

He said: ‘Unless you’ve experienced it, you can’t imagine the effect it has on your life when someone is determined to intimidate you and ruin your business.

“It’s been the worst two years of my life. You don’t want anyone to go to jail, but in this case she left the judge little choice.

“He said in court that this was the worst case of its kind he had ever dealt with.”

Jones was jailed for 18 months last month after admitting to intimidation, burglary and theft on the day her trial was due to start.

A charge of assault against Mr Cumming was on file, but he was given a lifetime restraining order, preventing her from going near him or his property.

Mr Cumming met Jones at horse shows, where he would promote his company, which has branches in Yorkshire and Aberdeenshire.

Jones was there to watch the horses she trained compete, and to support her eldest daughter, now 19, who is a talented show jumper.

Mr Cumming said: “We were together for five years. She and her girls came to live with me and things went well at first.

“But as time went on, I became unhappy in the relationship and had to ask them to leave. I bought my property myself thanks to my hard work building my business, she had no claim to this.

“But she refused to leave and wouldn’t accept that the relationship was over.

“I had no choice but to get the police involved and it was only at that point that she accepted that she had to leave and when she did I had the locks changed.

“For me that was the end, but Sarah wouldn’t let it go and for six to nine months she did everything she could to make my life a misery.

“One time, when I was away, she broke into the house through the back door. There was nothing here that she wanted. I think she just did it to show me she could do it.

Jones was accused of stealing mail and a vacuum cleaner, but she also tried to destroy a horse box that Mr Cumming allowed her to use for equestrian events.

He managed to stop her from burning the car down after catching her throwing gasoline on it.

Mr Cumming said: “She attacked me once. Even though it didn’t cause any real harm, it lingers in your mind, the psychological burden is the worst of it, I lived in constant fear of what she was going to do next.

“She even spoke to my clients and sent them messages with false accusations about me and my company. The effects of that are still ongoing, her actions have affected every part of my life.

“After our relationship ended, she could have easily moved on with her life. She may not have had the lifestyle I could give her, but she had opened her store and she was doing well.

“Instead, she couldn’t move on and wasn’t willing to let me. It was the worst time of my life and I hope that going to prison has made her realize how serious it was and that she should now leave me alone to get on with my life.”

Jones was interviewed in Equestrian Trade News when she opened her shop and talked about how the community had rallied – before her reputation was destroyed.

She told the magazine: “If we don’t have something in stock we will always try to get it in for customers and people appreciate that and will wait. Bedale is a very close-knit community and they like to shop local.”