A member of the ‘Freshwater Five’, jailed for 18 years in 2011 for his part in the smuggling of cocaine worth £53m into the UK, has been sentenced for stalking his ex-girlfriend.

Daniel Payne, of Kings Road, East Cowes, attended the Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court on Friday, July 26, after previously pleading guilty to stalking without fear, alarm or distress.

Liz Miller, prosecuting, said the 50-year-old stalked his ex-girlfriend for six weeks between September 1 and October 11, 2023, shortly after their relationship had ended.

Ms Miller told the court that, despite the woman telling him not to, Payne sent her numerous texts and social media messages.

On one occasion, the woman attended a tattoo parlour in East Cowes for an arranged appointment and discovered that Payne had already paid for it, said Ms Miller.

The court heard that the unwanted contact continued when Payne left clothes at her door with a note telling her to “pop round for a cuppa.”

Ms Miller said Payne left gifts at the woman’s door several times, including fish curry, flowers and one of his own diamond earrings, and later left a wing mirror on her car to replace the one his dog had broken.

The woman blocked him online, but Payne attempted to contact her through other people, including her sister.

In a statement read out by Ms Miller, the victim said she knew he had been in prison and was out on licence and was “frightened that he might try to hurt her”.

The stalking left her “scared to leave her home” as she was fearful he could be hiding somewhere.

Oscar Vincent, defending, said his client’s intentions were not malicious but instead born out of “naivety and lack of experience.”

Mr Vincent told magistrates that Payne had been in a ‘long term, monogamous relationship’ before jail and that he had gone "a very long time" without experience in day-to-day relationships.

The court heard that Payne’s victim was the first person he had been in a relationship with after his prison release and, after investing “a lot of compassion into it,” was confused when the relationship ended abruptly.

Payne "wanted to win her back", and, despite knowing the contact was unwanted, did it anyway because he wanted answers on why the relationship ended, said Mr Vincent.

Magistrates accepted that the relationship had ended with “mixed messages” so handed him an 18-month community order, to include 25 rehabilitation days, and imposed a two-year restraining order.

He must also pay a £427 fine, a £114 surcharge and £85 in costs.