"you became totally infatuated with her."
Sikander Ahmed, aged 58, of Hall Green, Birmingham, received an 18-month community order for bombarding a gym instructor with love messages after he had become infatuated with her.
Chartered accountant Ahmed followed the woman for 15 months.
During that time, he watched her from a car park as she left work, followed her and drove his car along her road up to eight times a day just to smile at her house.
This is despite barely speaking to the woman.
It was also heard that Ahmed had used three Facebook accounts to send her “creepy” messages.
One message read: “We need to sort this I have spent thousands of nights coming down so I can keep you here.”
The message also said: “I will always be by your side.”
It added: “I know it’s hard but you have nothing to be afraid of. For you, I’m the safest person on Earth.”
The woman did not reply to any of the messages but they all spoke about wanting a relationship with the woman who had only ever said “hello” or “goodbye” to Ahmed in passing at the gym.
Ahmed admitted one count of stalking.
The incident resulted in the woman’s anxiety increasing as well as leaving her feeling unsafe in her home and reluctant to go out.
Harry Lallie, defending, said: “This is a sad case.
“It was his imagination running wild. One does not know what was going on in his head during that period.”
He said that the end of a 23-year relationship caused trauma to Ahmed and he was “seeking something that would take away his pain”.
Mr Lallie continued: “He was spoken to by the police and decided to stop.”
He added that Ahmed had been in a business with his wife but that came to an end and he was unemployed.
Judge Heidi Kubik said: “Having observed her at work at a particular gym you became totally infatuated with her.
“You sent her repeated love messages that were entirely unrequited but it was your deluded fantasy that you were in a relationship with her.
“You persisted in sending her messages in spite of the lack of response.”
“You found out where she lived and would regularly drive outside her house and park on her street.
“She was unwell for other reasons and the impact of your actions, the stress, impacted on her recovery.”
The judge took into account Ahmed’s remorse, his previous good character and that he had taken steps to get help.
Ahmed was sentenced to an 18-month community order.
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