by Paul Hooper

A bitter lorry driver launched a campaign of hate against a former lover after the break-up of their eight-year relationship.

For three months Andrew Caplin, 47, made the life of Lisa Whitehouse "hell" with attacks on her car, home and work.

Angry Caplin hacked into his ex-partner’s email account and sent abusive messages to her friends and family.

Then he had business cards made up in her name claiming she was a prostitute – and distributed them around Dover.

Father of four Caplin, of Coombe Valley Road, Dover faced spending up to five years in jail after admitting a charge of harassment – but was allowed to walk free with a suspended sentence.

After the hearing at Canterbury Crown Court the long-distance lorry driver DENIED he had been responsible for the attacks despite his plea of guilty.

Caplin claimed he was taking the blame for someone else and accused Ms Whitehouse of being unfaithful.

He said: "She treated me absolutely horrendously and I caught her cheating on me. Even to the last second I spent £1,000 on a holiday. She came with me and I discovered that she was texting someone else while we were on holiday. I guess I was a mug.

"But at least I walk out of the door (of the court) and get on with my life; although I will probably lose my job over it."

Prosecutor Donna East said the couple’s relationship broke down in January 2011 and "immediately Ms Whitehouse suffered various incidents of damage".

A TV aerial and Sky and phone cables were slashed at her home in Rokesley Road, Dover on the day the couple parted and a brick was later thrown through her window.

"Then she began receiving threatening text messages from an unknown mobile number and even more sinister was the fact her email account had been hacked into and emails were sent to her brother, father, friends and her employer that were explicitly sexual and disturbing."

Ms East said Ms Whitehouse’s bosses at a home for people with learning difficulties in Melbourne Avenue, Dover, were also sent threatening emails demanding they sack her "or their business would suffer".

The court heard that the word "slag" had been daubed in red paint on the front of her home..

"Business cards were also put through her door with the word ‘prostitute’ and her phone number and cards were found elsewhere, " she added.

After police were alerted they found red paint at Caplin’s home and traces of the paint on his jacket along with the fake business card.

Officers also believe that the driver had used a computer belonging to an ex-wife to send the emails – but it was destroyed after " a coffee spill" before it could be forensically examined, the court heard.

Peter Alcock, defending, said: "All this happened in the context of a break-up, largely emails but there were other matters of damage. It started in January and the last one was in May. There has now been no contact between the two for more than a year

"Before all this he was a man of good character."

Caplin was given a nine month jail sentence suspended for two years, ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work – and was banned from going to his former lover’s home or work for two years.

Judge Nigel Van Der Bijl told him: "You made this lady’s life hell for three months if not more."