BBC presenter tells of ordeal as figures show stalking on rise

Stalking crimes in Edinburgh are up 40 per cent in the six months to September against the same time period a year before, according to new crime statistics released by Police Scotland.

- by Joe Sullivan

BBC Scotland presenter Anne McAlpine had a stalker for four years, who sent her letters and gifts and turned up at her house

(Picture: BBC Alba)

The news comes a day after BBC Scotland presenter Anne McAlpine described her nearly four-year ordeal with her stalker, Robert Green, 71, which eventually led to a court case.

She said the experience left her "terrified" as she detailed an incident where he appeared outside her home when a colleague was dropping her off.

Scottish charity Action Against Stalking defines stalking on its website as being "two or more behaviours" where a perpetrator's behaviour causes a victim to suffer fear and alarm.

It said stalking can be in person or online, and occur in a range of contexts, and that the four main signs to be aware of are: fixation, obsession, unwanted contact, and repetitive contact.