A TERRIFIED Dudley woman was forced to take refuge in the towns Magistrates Court when her former boyfriend who had sent her pictures of guns after she ended their relationship continued to threaten her life.

Mohammed Islam had made the life of his frightened victim an "absolute misery" in what was a case of unrequited love, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

The 30-year-old followed the woman, he turned up at her place of work and he appeared outside her home after telling her: "It's not over. I will come back and finish you."

He told the woman who worked as a shop assistant it was only a matter of time before she was "slapped up" adding that she would not get away with what she had done to him.

Judge Dean Kershaw told Islam stalking had a devastating effect on its victims and he went on:"You are at an age when you clearly should have known better.

"But you simply could not handle what happened and you proceeded on a course of pretty horrific bullying. It is highly disturbing that you possessed what were serious pictures of guns."

Islam, the judge said, had sent the woman a number of highly abusive messages he had made her feel vulnerable and frightened and he made threats on her life and also threatened family members.

Ian Ball, prosecuting, said Islam was set to face the magistrates on a stalking charge but when his victim turned up at the court she was forced to take refuge in the witness care room because of his actions.

He said she had made it clear to Islam she did not want a relationship and she had told her friends she wanted nothing to do with him but he continued to ruin her life.

In a victim impact statement she told police officers she had been left in a state of "constant fear" adding: "I felt scared because I just did not know what he would do next."

She said there were times when she was forced to hide under the counter at the store where she worked and his behaviour caused her sleepless nights, anxiety and panic attacks.

Islam, of Imperial Road, Bordesley Green, Birmingham, admitted stalking and two charges of witness intimidation and he was jailed for a total of 16 months.

The judge, who further made a restraining order forbidding him from having any future contact with the woman, told Islam - a man with previous convictions for offences including violence - he had been in a "relationship of sorts" with the woman.

It was impossible to underestimate the damaging effects of stalking on a victim, he concluded, and his actions had clearly devastated his victim.