Actress Anna Friel has told a court how a man who stalked her for nearly three years left her feeling "threatened and shocked".

Phil Appleton, 71, was handed a restraining order of 15 years and a community order of 24 months on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to stalking Ms Friel.

Appleton sent the actress multiple messages and visited her home address several times, blowing kisses and mouthing "I love you" at the house's CCTV cameras as well as leaving "unwanted" gifts like empty cigarette packets, between 1 January 2022 and 11 December 2024, Reading Crown Court heard.

Ms Friel, who did not attend the hearing, said in a victim statement read out in court: "As a woman in the acting industry where there have been a lot of cases of stalking, it still shocked me when it happened to me.

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