'I was controlled by an obsessed catfish who lied that I had cheated with my best friend's husband'

A mum-of-three has told of how her life was ruined by an online stalker.

Sabrina Cowley suffered daily harassment from Matthew Hardy after he became obsessed with her.

In a prolonged 'catfishing' campaign, Hardy posed as Sabrina's friends and accused her of having a string of affairs - including with her late mum's ex.

The stalker also pretended to be Sabrina to others.

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Now Hardy has been jailed for offences against a number of women, and Sabrina, 42, of Mere, Cheshire, has described the shocking personal toll of his offending.

"He absolutely ruined my life and dominated my thoughts for five years," she said. "He set up accounts pretending to be me and sent messages to my friends and family and even my children. "He also set up accounts in my friends' names and messaged me pretending to be them. "The level of research he carried out to discover small details about me was mind-blowing and it made me so afraid that he would hurt me or my family. "I hated letting my children out of the house, even to go to school. I barely slept and I was forever checking for him in the street. My life was completely controlled by him."

Sabrina's ordeal began in 2015 when she called briefly to see a family friend of her late mother, and bumped into Matthew Hardy at the house. "I was only at the house to drop something off," Sabrina said. "I said hello to Matthew and we left it at that - I didn't think any more of it." "But, days later, he began messaging me on Facebook and accused me of having an affair with the family friend I had been to visit. "I assured him he had got the wrong idea; the man was much older than me and