A MAN who pretended to be a police officer and repeatedly harassed his ex-girlfriend, leaving her scared to leave her house, has been jailed for 24 weeks.

Southampton Magistrates’ Court heard how Terry David Waymark made the woman’s life a misery by repeatedly calling and sending her letters, after she broke up with him when she discovered he was a phoney.

On one occasion he even sent an ambulance to her home in the small hours.

The court heard that this was the second time Waymark, of Landguard Road, Southampton had posed as a policeman to impress a woman.

The 35-year-old was found guilty of harassment and was ordered to serve 24-week behind bars to run concurrently with a 20-week sentence for impersonating a police officer.

He was also made subject to a two-year restraining order and 12-month supervision requirement, when he leaves prison.

The charges related to incidents which took place between October 6 and October 24, last year.

The court heard Waymark began a brief relationship with the victim, who he met through an online dating site, in August.

During their relationship Waymark – who didn’t have a uniform – told the victim and her family he was a police officer, pretending that a radio he had was for work.

While members of his girlfriend’s family had suspicions they never mentioned anything until an incident at a hotel where Waymark had no ID and asked the victim, who was with her son, to provide hers.

After the incident, her son rang the police to check on Waymark’s identity and discovered he had been lying about being a policeman.

The son reported Waymark and he was arrested.

While Waymark was held in prison awaiting trial his former girlfriend visited him and said the relationship was over.

Mr Heath told the court from that point onwards there was a large number of unwelcome telephone calls and letters.

And, at 2am on October 23 Waymark also called an ambulance to her address for himself although he was not there.

In a statement read out to the court, the victim said: “I am scared to go out and to answer the door... I want him to leave me alone so I can feel safe and live in my own home without feeling paranoid.”

Prosecuting, Graham Heath said the victim had told the police getting into a relationship with Waymark was a “mistake” and she’d had to change her phone number twice and believed she would have to do so again.

He said the harassment had affected her financially, as he had to keep buying new phones, and emotionally as she had lost contact with friends who did not have her new number.

Mr Heath said Waymark had lied previously about being a police officer to another women he had met online, with whom he had a brief relationship in April 2016.

Waymark was not in court but appeared a via video link and was seen to be smirking through most of the proceedings.

Defending Richard Harris said Waymark had already spent 11 weeks and two days in prison.

He added the defendant had not lied to gain information but to earn the respect and kudos that came with being a policemen.

Chairman Anne Heather said: “It was unpleasant for the victim and an inconvenience for the emergency services which could have needed that ambulance for someone really ill.”

In 2004, the Daily Echo reported a court case where Waymark was found to be “attention seeking” as part of a fixation with calling emergency services.

He was jailed 24 weeks for a number of offences, including one where he pretended to be a police officer.