Meeting Queen turned my dream man into a monster
As dog trainer admits harassment against girlfriend, she says:
A CHAMPION gundog trainer who was given a prestigious award by the Queen has avoided jail after he admitted harassing his then-girlfriend.
Jamie Smith, 48, was hailed as one of the best dog trainers in Britain after winning a Kennel Club competition at the Sandringham Estate.
But yesterday his now- exgirlfriend Cara Craven, 41, said she believed meeting the Queen had turned her ‘dream man’ into a ‘monster’. Shortly after winning the award, Smith started seeing primary school teacher Miss Craven.
But within months he had begun monitoring her phone and harassing her, she said.
She told how Smith – who moved in with her and her son Dexter, 17 – made her ask permission before spending money. He also told her he didn’t want her wearing skirts to work, and accused her of ‘wearing blouses to show off my breasts to work colleagues’.
In another incident, Miss Craven claimed Smith flew into a jealous rage when she gave his work colleague a hug during a social meeting at a pub, to thank him for fixing her car.
After 18 months, the mother-of-one found the courage to end their relationship and went to the police. Last month Smith, who breeds and trains working cocker spaniels, was handed an 18-month community order and 80 hours of unpaid work after he admitted harassment at Lincoln Crown Court.
Miss Craven, from Marshchapel, near Grimsby, 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 for the rest of my life”.
‘He was very into his work and was proud of being presented with an award by the Queen. He was defined by that moment and 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.’
Since the court hearing in December, she has joined forces with a charity which helps women who have been harassed and abused by their partners.
Smith, who runs Claxbywold Gundogs in Lincolnshire, said: ‘I refute all of this and I will be speaking to my solicitor.’
‘It went to his head’