Factory worker who was 'intrigued' by killer Raoul Moat terrified his ex-partner

Gary Dunn, 37, who had been dumped by Laura Temple,32, after a 12-year relationship, worked in a Nestle chocolate factory on Tyneside where Moat shot his ex's boyfriend and blinded a police officer in July 2010 before turning his gun on himself

Dunn, a violent and controlling influence, recruited his new wife Rebekah, 31, to stalk the family on a fake Facebook account and he threatened that their son, six, would be left an orphan

Dunn sent Ms Temple, a teacher, between 300 and 400 abusive and threatening emails over several weeks in 2016 when he was subject to an eight months suspended prison sentence for harassing her

Prosecutor Paul Cleasby said that he also damaged the home and car of Ms Temple's parents after she ended the relationship in September 2016.

Mr Cleasby said that she moved home three times because of the threats, which included: "I was always intrigued by Raoul Moat.

"He did die but he got the effect."

Robin Denny, defending Gary Dunn, said: "He has not had contact with his son since October last year and he is worried about the future prospects."

Ayesha Smart, defending, said that Rebekah Dunn was a "vulnerable" woman and that her husband was her carer for her mental and physical difficulties.

Dunn, of Low Grange Avenue, Billingham, was jailed for four years at Teesside Crown Court on Friday after he pleaded guilty to acting in breach of a restraining order between May 2016 and August 2016 and also stalking involving fear of violence or serious alarm or distress between the same dates.

His wife was given a three year community order with 35 days rehabilitation requirement after she admitted the stalking charge.

They were both given an indefinite restraining order banning contact with Ms Temple, her family and her new partner.

Judge Peter Armstrong told Gary Dunn: "You embarked on a calculated campaign of harassment of Laura Temple and an aggravating feature is that you involved her (your wife) in this offending.

Commenting on the messages, Judge Armstrong said: "It is not just the number but the threatening nature and understandably she would have been terrified of what you were saying. The clear intent was to terrify her as well."