Man jailed for harassing former partner

A man who harassed his former partner and flouted a strict court order has been jailed.

Darren Wheeler, 39, turned up at the victim’s former house in Eastfield, Peterborough, at about 9.15am on 21 April.

She had arrived to pick up some belongings from the house, which Wheeler had been banned from under the terms of a restraining order.

Pictured: Darren Wheeler, 39. 

The order had been imposed at Cambridge Crown Court in December 2024 after Wheeler was convicted of grievous bodily harm without intent on a man and given a suspended sentence.

The victim had been concerned Wheeler would be there and had locked the doors.

But he went to the back garden, smashed a fence, and used the wood to smash the back door of the house.

Officers were called and Wheeler escaped through a window and drove off in a car.

He was arrested on 2 May at a property in Bretton, Peterborough.

On Friday (28 November), a Cambridge Crown Court, Wheeler, of Deerleep, Bretton, was jailed for a year after pleading guilty to harassment, which also activated the suspended sentence.

DC Ryan Ellington, who investigated, said: “This case shows how seriously we and the courts take restraining orders.

“Wheeler’s behaviour left the victim feeling incredibly frightened and vulnerable.”