A jilted dad stalked the mother of his young son with a barrage of "grossly offensive" texts, emails and calls, as well as reputation-damaging social media posts.

Alwyn Tuttiett caused serious alarm or distress to his victim over the course of eight months following their break-up.

Maidstone Crown Court heard the "obsessive" campaign against his former lover continued even after he had been arrested, warned to stop and released on police bail.

Prosecutor William McBarnet said the 47-year-old and the mum had been a couple for about 12 months when she ended the relationship in October last year due to his abusive behaviour towards her.

"They split up and after that she received a barrage of messages, texts, emails and phone calls that were aggressive and of a derogatory nature," he explained.

"She blocked him but he used a number of methods including no caller ID phone calls to contact her. It left her distressed and alarmed."

A number of Tuttiett's abusive communications were read to the court. In one he called his ex-girlfriend “a nasty, horrible b****”' and in another told her “Karma is going to catch up with you soon”.

He also branded her a “w****”, adding: “You are going to be so sorry. You poisonous, little c***."

Mr McBarnet told the court that the victim feared Tuttiett, from East Farleigh near Maidstone, would harm both her and their son, with the abuse continuing over the next few months.

"She received further messages which she said made her feel sick," he added. "To give the court a flavour of what was said, one read 'Most snakes crawl on the ground but some snakes walk upright and talk'.

"Another said 'You will get f*** all out of me, you greedy, selfish s***.'."

Tuttiett, a roof tiler by trade, was again blocked so then sent emails. When those were blocked, he resorted to No ID calls.

At one point, she had to unblock him to arrange child contact, only for him to "take the opportunity to send highly abusive messages of a sexual nature", added the prosecutor.

Tuttiett, of Station Hill, also abused her on Facebook by leaving damaging comments about her on a photo.

He was arrested in February and bailed.

"But rather than desist, he continued with his stalking behaviour," Mr McBarnet told the court.

The barrister explained how on three occasions in May this year, while Tuttiett was living on a boat, he "intercepted" the mum as she walked along the towpath with her father and children.

“This is the mother of your son and you treated her with such disrespect…”

There were also a number of unwanted calls, including one in which he asked if she had spoken to police, as well as abusive texts, some highly sexual in nature.

"This was persistent conduct over a long period, intended to maximise fear or distress, and with a degree of planning," added the prosecutor.

In her police statement made in June this year, the victim said she was "stripped" of her personality by her ex-partner’s behaviour, adding: "I've had enough of this. I don't know how much more I can take."

Tuttiett, who has been in custody since his re-arrest, admitted stalking when he appeared in court on Monday (October 28).

James Harrison, defending, said that following the couple's break-up, Tuttiett's former partner had "effectively full control" over their son.

He said it was against a background of not being able to see his child that the defendant suffered "a great deal of upset and an inability to control his temper", resulting in his "unpleasant" messages.

Mr Harrison added that the interaction on the towpath simply resulted from wanting to see his son.

Sentencing was adjourned until Thursday (October 31) for the details of a restraining order to be finalised.

Jailing Tuttiett for 15 months, Recorder Cairns Nelson KC said his behaviour was aggravated by the fact some of the stalking took place in front of his child and while on bail.

Referring to the barrage of messaging and Facebook posts, the judge added: "This is a lady by whom you have a child. This is the mother of your son and you treated her with such disrespect.

"What you did was grossly offensive to this woman…”

"I'm not going to read out the sordid detail, save to say it was upsetting, harassing, stalking, distressing, obsessive behaviour.

"What you did was grossly offensive to this woman. I understand the context - people get upset at the breakdown of relationships, people get upset about the custody of children. But that is no excuse for this."

The restraining order limits Tuttiett's contact with the victim and includes an exclusion zone covering much of East Farleigh, including where his boat is currently moored.

On imposing it for five years, the judge warned any infringement could lead to a two-year prison sentence.

"I appreciate that might be inconvenient for you but at the end of the day you have only got yourself to blame. Breach it at your peril,” he warned.

But when his lawyer asked if one exception could be made to allow Tuttiett on his release from prison to move his home in the company of police to another part of the River Medway, Recorder Nelson refused.

"He can get someone else to move the boat," he remarked.

Leading the investigation was detective constable Josh Barkaway, who said: “Tuttiett subjected his victim to repeated and appalling psychological abuse.

“He made countless phone calls and sent unwanted texts and social media messages to her, leaving her in constant fear and forcing her to change her daily routines.

“The harassment was relentless and has caused his victim a huge amount of distress and anxiety.

“We are grateful that she has shown tremendous courage in coming forward and helping us secure this important sentence.

“I would also like to remind people there is a wealth of support on offer to anyone who is suffering this kind of abuse.”