The boss of one of Kent’s oldest family firms hid a tracker under his ex-girlfriend’s car during a four-month stalking campaign, a court has heard.

Graham West, who runs West Whelks in Whitstable Harbour, used the GPS device to monitor the movements of his former partner.

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

Margate Magistrates’ Court heard the pair had been in a relationship that ended prior to West’s covert harassment beginning in January this year.

Prosecutors told how the 61-year-old shellfish boss became intent on tracking her movements following the split.

“For about four months, wherever she was going, Mr West was turning up there or was present,” said Terry Knox, prosecuting.

“She changed her gym and he would attend that same gym.

“She began to suspect her vehicle had a tracker on it.”

After finding the monitoring device in April, the woman decided to play detective and drove to a rural location to see if West would follow.

When he showed up, her suspicions were confirmed, and she reported him to police.

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

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

“This has set me back 10-fold,” she said.

“It has massively 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 the Paul Whitehouse series, Our Troubled Rivers, to talk about the damaging impact of Southern Water sewage releases on his firm.

Magistrates were told at the time of his offending West had been “single-handedly trying to secure his livelihood and his business, which he relied upon”.

His lawyer told the court he takes “full responsibility for his actions” and has since taken every opportunity to “remove himself from situations he might bump into the victim”.

“At the time of these actions, Mr West was in a very difficult mental space,” she added.

“He had been a carer for his late-wife for 12 years.”

West, of Freemans Close, Seasalter, will be sentenced at the same court on November 9 following the completion of probation reports.