Alex Belfield, who was labelled 'the Jimmy Savile of trolling' during a trial, will be sentenced in September 2022
A former BBC Radio Leeds DJ has been found guilty of waging a relentless stalking campaign against broadcasters and subjecting TV presenter Jeremy Vine to an “avalanche of hatred”.
Describing watching Belfield’s video output as like swimming in sewage, Mr Vine said of the defendant’s conduct: “It felt like I had a fish hook in my face and my flesh was being torn, and the only way to avoid further pain was to stay completely still.” The court was told the 42-year-old, of Mapperley, Nottingham, started out as a broadcast assistant on local radio and in recent years set up a YouTube channel known as Celebrity Radio. He told the court he was the victim of a social media “pile-on” and a “witch-hunt” by other broadcasters, after exercising his rights to freedom of speech in communications with the complainants.
In his evidence, Mr Vine, who launched separate defamation proceedings last year, said of Belfield: “I found it shocking and distressing, and it made me worried. I have in the past had a physical stalker who followed me. That is a picnic compared to this guy. It’s like an avalanche of hatred that you get hit by.”
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