A man who admitted to stalking Loose Women panellist and Hollyoaks star Denise Welch has been jailed for seven years and seven months.
Toraq Wyngard, 53, previously admitted to stalking the actress and causing serious alarm or distress for offences that occurred between September 18, 2020, and February 11, 2021.
Welch, 63, said: ‘It has changed my life. I have a wonderful life and this man has permanently scarred it.’
The court heard that, just before 11pm on September 19, 2020, Wyngard started a fire in a skip outside the home Welch shares with her husband, Lincoln Townley, in Cheshire.
The court heard that £4,285 of damage was caused by the blaze, which spread to the garage attached to the couple’s house.
Wyngard was arrested nearby wearing a cap, covered in metallic pin badges, and police discovered a 4in (10cm) kitchen knife in his rucksack.
The court heard that he claimed to be a press photographer and police found two cameras in his bag.
On February 10, 2021, while Wyngard was released under investigation, Welch and Townley discovered the words ‘Witch’ and ‘Pimp’ along with an upside-down cross had been scrawled on their front gate in blue marker pen, the court was told.
CCTV showed Wyngard writing the graffiti and he was captured on CCTV at a nearby shop buying the pen.
Gareth Bellis, prosecuting, said: ‘These actions caused serious alarm and distress and had a substantial adverse affect on the Townleys and their day-to-day activities.’
Welch went on to say: ‘This whole experience terrified me and continues to do so.’
Her husband Townley, 49, who appeared via video-link with his wife, said: ‘My family mean everything to me and the thought of not being able to protect them from this experience has left me feeling powerless and angry.’
Wyngard had also pleaded guilty to charges of possession of a knife, criminal damage, and arson, after setting fire to a skip in the driveway of Welch’s Cheshire home that she shares with husband Townley, police said.
In a statement released by police last year, Welch said she and her husband were relieved Wyngard had pleaded guilty.
She said: ‘This has been an incredibly terrifying and stressful time for me and our family.’
Wyngard was found near the star’s home in 2020 when authorities were called to a fire, which, according to police, spread from the skip to the garage attached to the property.
Welch, who played Trish Minniver in Hollyoaks and Natalie Barnes in Coronation Street, is a regular panellist on Loose Women and has also appeared on Waterloo Road and as a contestant on Dancing On Ice.
