After being fired from his mid-morning show, a former BBC Radio DJ accused of stalking Jeremy Vine launched a nine-year “campaign of harassment” against his former colleagues, a court heard.
Alex Belfield, 42, is accused of stalking eight BBC employees after his contract at BBC Radio Leeds was not renewed by management in 2011.
According to testimony given in court, he stalked BBC radio personality Jeremy Vine, which left him “distressed” and unable to eat or sleep.
Jurors were informed that he sent hateful emails, tweets, and messages to editors, presenters, and other team members, as well as posted movies on his Youtube page.
It was also stated that Belfield called Vine a “sanctimonious p***,” “a c***,” and a “scum-sucking pond life” and offered to hire individuals to harass him.
The court heard that Vine’s “feeling of well-being and optimism eroded” as a result of the relentless barrage of insults, which prompted him to take safety precautions to safeguard his family.
Belfield reportedly made “sickening, sexist, and transphobic” insults and called his managing editor a “odious filthy lady” and a “spineless weasel.”
His acts were stated to have caused his victims “severe worry and anguish,” and the “ferocious and unrelenting” abuse had an influence on their day-to-day activities.
Today Belfield, of Mapperley, Notts., went on trial at Nottingham Crown Court accused of eight counts of stalking.
As some of the texts he was allegedly sending were read aloud to the court, he was observed grinning and nodding in the dock.
Prosecutor John McGuinness QC stated in his opening statement that Belfield had leveled a number of “distressing and unnecessary” accusations on his former coworkers.
The claimed victims didn’t want Alex Belfield to contact them, and they also didn’t want to see or hear what he was saying about them, according to him.
However, he persisted in bothering them despite knowing or being aware that he was doing so, to the point that it seriously alarmed or distressed them and negatively damaged their day-to-day lives.
‘Some of the conduct alleged goes back many years to 2011-2012. Other conduct alleged against the defendant is much more recent, going back to 2019-2020.’
Jeremy Vine, the court heard, faced a wave of abuse online after false and entirely baseless claims were made relating to the supposed theft of £1,000.
Belfield is said to have developed a ‘dislike, almost hatred’ of Mr Vine after the BBC donated the sum to a memorial fund set up to honour a friend of the broadcaster.
Mr McGuinness added: ‘Jeremy Vine was subjected to a constant bombardment of harassing tweets and YouTube videos from Alex Belfield.
‘The original cause of Alex Belfield’s online attacks on Jeremy Vine arose out of what would appear to have been an unexceptional event.
‘On April 8 on YouTube, Alex Belfield said on his channel: ‘Jeremy Vine, can I do a rant about him I was listening to him on Radio 2 today and this guy really p**** me off’.
‘On May 3 on his YouTube channel, Alex Belfield said:’ ‘When you talk b*****t like that on your programme Jeremy it’s very dangerous because your opinions are infectious.
‘Shame on you Jeremy, blood on your hands, sanctimonious p****’.
‘On May 6 on his YouTube channel, Alex Belfield said of Jeremy Vine: ‘I don’t like Jeremy Vine, I think he’s a c*** ”
The court also heard Belfield asked people watching his show to provide private contact information for Vine.
Mr McGuinness added: ‘He asked those watching for his numbers, or the numbers of his family or friends.
‘He said: ‘Yeah, anybody got their numbers – maybe I could call them, see how they like it, scum-sucking pond life. Carry on, this is fun now, this is great’.
‘Jeremy Vine was particularly distressed by Alex Belfield’s threats to pay people to harass him.
‘Since Alex Belfield started to make his allegations, Jeremy Vine has received threatening and abusive messages on Twitter.
The court heard that because of the abuse, Jeremy Vine thought Alex Belfield had invaded his personal space both at home and at work.
Jurors were informed that Mr. Vine had trouble falling asleep, had lost his appetite, and was preoccupied with planning Alex Belfield’s upcoming program.
He was concerned that someone may visit his home and assault his family while he was away, so he felt the need to seek security guidance in order to safeguard himself and his family.
The first offenses allegedly occurred when Belfield worked at BBC Radio Leeds between 2010 and 2011, for a total of one year.
Mr McGuinness added: ‘During this time he presented the mid-morning radio show on the station. His immediate boss was Rozina Breen and another broadcaster, Liz Green presented a talk show slot that followed immediately after Alex Belfield’s show.
‘There were various issues during the time that Alex Belfield was employed at the BBC, which led to the involvement of Breen’s own superior, Helen Thomas who was the managing editor.
‘In early 2011, it was decided that Alex Belfield’s fixed term contract would not be renewed. After leaving the BBC, Alex Belfield brought further claims.
‘A claim against Rozina Breen alleging that she had bullied and harassed him – but he did not pursue this claim to a hearing and was ordered to pay Rozina Breen’s costs.
‘A claim against the BBC arising out of the end of his contract of employment – this claim was resolved on the basis that the BBC would not enforce the earlier costs claim.
‘On January 22, 2020 – almost nine years after Alex Belfield left the BBC, he continued to take great pleasure in vilifying them to a public audience.
‘He called Helen Thomas an ‘odious vile woman, ‘the most spineless weasel’ he had ever met in radio, ‘promoted for failure’ and ‘a truly sickening woman’.
‘Intermittently over a period of about nine years after Alex Belfield left the BBC, he has made distressing and gratuitous allegations against all of them in offensive and hurtful terms.
‘Helen Thomas said her everyday life was affected. She dreaded turning on her computer in case there was an email from Alex Belfield.
‘She felt she was constantly under a microscope. She says she coped by shutting down her feelings about him.’
Another BBC Leeds presenter Stephanie Hurst was subject to ‘sickening, misogynistic and transphobic’ remarks against her which were ‘ferocious and relentless’, the court was told.
‘He has had sleepless nights believing he was going to be taken to court and that Alex Belfield would destroy his life.
‘He began to believe Alex Belfied’s threats and the thought of losing his home terrified him.’
Belfield, who is representing himself, denies the charges.
The trial continues.