Kudos of being honoured by the Queen turned my new love into a monster
A WOMAN harassed by her champion gundog trainer boyfriend says the fame of being presented with a top award by the Queen turned him into“a monster”.
Jamie Smith, 48, was celebrated as one of the best dog trainers in Britain after he won a Kennel Club competition at the royal Sandringham Estate.
But he had a dangerous and controlling side which saw him pull the handbrake of a van at 60mph during one rage.
On another occasion he jealously rifled through his lover’s phone while she suffered a miscarriage.
Smith met Cara Craven on a dating site shortly after being pictured shaking hands with the Queen in January 2018.
But months into the relationship Smith started going through her phone and harassing her.
Teacher Cara, 41, who lives with her son Dexter, 17, in Marshchapel, Lincs, has spoken out about her ordeal to help others. She said: “I met Jamie in June 2018 and it was all absolutely beautiful.
“He was charming and like my knight in shining armour, my dream man. I was thinking I’m going to be with this man
‘ I had to ask consent before I could spend any money’
for the rest of my life. He was proud of being presented with an award by the Queen.
“He said it was the highlight of his career.
“He brought it up in every conversation with people.
“It went to his head and he became obsessed with how he looked on social media.
“I think meeting the Queen turned him into a monster.
“He would post on social media about how wonderful our life was but behind closed doors it was very different.
“The first time I noticed a change in him was when I was at his flat with my son and we were watching a movie and he just went in a complete and utter mood and ignored me.
“He said he was really upset I wasn’t cuddling up to him.”
On another occasion Cara claims Smith flew into a jealous rage when she gave his work colleague a hug to thank him for fixing her car.
She said: “On the way home I was driving the van. He started yelling and screaming
– I don’t know how I kept control of the van as I was sobbing. We were on a country road doing about 60mph and he told me to stop.
“I told him no and he pulled the handbrake. The van went across the other side of the road. I managed to pull over.”
In January 2019, Cara became pregnant but had a miscarriage. She said: “While I was at the hospital Jamie was in my room going through my phone. As soon as I was wheeled back he asked me if I
was seeing someone else. He told me he had been through my phone and found a video when I was in France of me fooling around with some other people and he didn’t like it. It was completely innocent.
“He told me he didn’t want me wearing skirts for work because I looked like a slut and accused me of wearing blouses to show off my breasts to work colleagues.”
Despite their volatile relationship, Smith – who runs Claxbywold Gundogs – moved
in with Cara. She said: “We had a joint bank account but I had to ask permission before I could spend any money. I applied for my own account but when he found out he said I had ruined our relationship and demanded I close it.”
Cara finally left Smith and went to police.
He admitted harassment at Lincoln Crown Court and got an 18- month community order with 80 hours of unpaid work. Two charges of assault were left on file.