A THUG has been jailed for harassing a woman by calling her up to 200 times a day and leaving abusive messages.

Mark Needs, of Cedar Mews, Hockley, ignored a restraining order he had been given months earlier and persistently harassed a woman even when police officers were present.

Needs admitted harassment at Basildon Crown Court last Thursday and was jailed for nine months.

Investigating officer PC Charles Quaey, of Southend’s Domestic Abuse Team, said: “Needs subjected the victim to a barrage of calls and abuse despite having a restraining order in place that prohibits any contact with her.

“While on routine visits at her home, officers were present when he made contact with her.

“We made good use of our body worn cameras to record the calls and these were used in evidence.

“Needs will now spend time locked in prison and has had a further restraining order placed on him.”

The court heard the 36-year-old had been given a restraining order in April 2018 which banned him from contacting the woman directly or indirectly.

Despite this, between November 2018 and January 2019, he persistently called the woman from a withheld number and also left abusive voice messages.

The woman told police officers she had received around 200 calls a day and on two occasions Needs called her while police officers were present supporting her.

These conversations were filmed on the officers’ body worn cameras and later used as evidence in his prosecution.

The cameras were also used to record 47 voicemail messages left by Needs on the woman’s answerphone.

Needs was jailed for nine months and had his restraining order extended by a further year.

This means he is now banned from contacting the woman until April 2020.

If you have been affected by any issues in this story, you can seek support from Essex Police.

To find out more information about how the police can help, visit www.essex.police.uk/advice/domestic-abuse/how-we-can-help/