The boss of one of Kent’s oldest family firms who hid a tracker under his ex-girlfriend’s car has been slammed by a judge for “victim blaming”.

Graham West, who runs West Whelks in Whitstable Harbour, used the GPS device to monitor the movements of his former partner in a four-month stalking campaign.

He came unstuck after his victim discovered the tracker hidden beneath her vehicle and lured him to a rural spot to confront him.

But despite a judge saying West had shown “no remorse” for his actions, he avoided jail at Margate Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

West’s stalking started in January this year and continued until he was caught in April.

Prosecutor Terry Knox said the pair met in 2019 when they attended the same gym.

But in December last year, they argued and the relationship deteriorated.

After they broke up, the victim noticed West would attend the same places as her and see him driving up and down the road.

She started going to a different gym but he turned up there too and said he was attending a class.

That same evening, her daughter noticed his vehicle parked at the end of the road.

The victim saw the 61-year-old on three different occasions while food shopping in Canterbury, which she found odd as he does not live in the city and “it would be unusual for him to be doing so”.

“Because of the encounters, she questioned whether she had a tracker on her car and she found one underneath,” Mr Knox said.

“She put it in the boot of her car and reported it to the police.

“On April 14, she deliberately attended a secluded walking area in Reculver and sat next to her parked car at a pub.

“After an hour, Mr West approaches and takes pictures of the vehicle.

“Her son approaches Mr West who says he was just going for a walk.”

West, who has no previous convictions, was arrested and “made significant admissions in interview”.

In a victim impact statement, West’s former partner told how the stalking has affected her life.

“This has set me back ten-fold,” she said.

“It has ruined my ability to build a future without me looking over my shoulder and has knocked my confidence.”

Widower West is a high-profile figure in Whitstable as the boss of West Whelks, which has a 150-year history of selling shellfish from the harbour.

Earlier this year he appeared on Paul Whitehouse’s TV series Our Troubled Rivers to talk about the damaging impact of Southern Water sewage releases on his firm.

Last week, district judge William Nelson was dismayed by the lack of remorse shown in a pre-sentencing report prepared by West with the help of probation.

The judge said: “He entered a guilty plea before me with your assistance [referring to West’s lawyer] with the full facts before the crown.

“He went before a probation officer and I find no remorse in this pre-sentencing report.

“What I find is victim blaming for these instances of control which land firmly at his door.

“He put a tracker for one reason which was to follow her, which I find insiduous.”

West pleaded guilty to one count of stalking between January and April during a previous hearing at the same court.

The judge said on Thursday he had hoped to read about a man who had begun to “recognise his control” to prevent similar harm.

But he added: “There are elements of this pre-sentencing report the probation officer feels are seeds that can be generated into some understanding and can be worked with.”

West’s lawyer Desesy Nascimento told how the defendant was in a “very difficult mental space” following the death of his wife of 12 years.

She also said he was “single-handedly trying to secure his livelihood and his business, which he relied upon”.

Arguing West was remorseful, she explained: “This culmination of significant circumstances led to him making choices he is ashamed of.”

West was handed a suspended sentence for 18 weeks to last 18 months and must attend 40 rehabilitation activity requirement sessions.

A restraining order was put in place for five years, which means he cannot contact the victim, attend her home, or any address he believes her to be residing at.

West, of Freemans Close, Seasalter, was ordered to pay a £85 prosecution fee and a £154 victim surcharge.

In his closing remarks, district judge Wilson said: ”This is planned, persistent action over a prolonged period.

“It is a highly sophisticated tracker which used in the way it was is designed to do one thing which is to remain undetected over a long period – to have control over a long period.”