Paedophile jailed for sending stalker letters to DJ Sara Cox and her family

 Sara Cox, the Radio 2 DJ, was stalked by a listener who wrote her a letter which said “I’m lonely, psychologically disturbed and have a long criminal history”, a court heard.

Anthony Collins, 50, a convicted paedophile from Chatham, Kent, was jailed for 16 months for harassment. He sent letters to Ms Cox’s family home and to Ben Cyzer, her husband, at his workplace. He also printed off directions to her sister’s workplace. Collins used the presenter’s married name and listed her personal details, adding: “I have done my research online”.

Ms Cox reported the harassment to the BBC and then the police.

In 2000, Collins was convicted of poisoning a 13-year-old girl. Police searching his house after Ms Cox’s complaint found images of children aged four to 15 in his bedside drawers.

At an earlier hearing at Maidstone Crown Court, Collins admitted harassment, and possessing and making indecent images of children.

Sara Cox: the popular Radio 2 presenter was harassed by a man who said he had researched her online