Harrogate man found guilty of breaching restraining orderMan admits threatening to put a bomb in woman’s letterbox in HarrogateEx-marine with PTSD admits drink-driving in HarrogateSuspended sentence for Masham woman who harassed neighbours

A 50-year-old woman has been given a suspended sentence for harassing her neighbours in Masham over a period of almost a year.

Summer Sugar was sentenced at York Magistrates’ Court yesterday after being found guilty in July of harassment by anti-social behaviour between September 15, 2019, and August 25, 2020.

Magistrates heard her neighbours were left unable to go about their lives because of the constant fear of what she would do.

She was found to have caused consistent noise nuisance, with intense loud banging on walls for prolonged periods and playing loud music. She had taken photographs of her neighbours in their garden, including their young children, and had made a malicious complaint to Yorkshire Water about them blocking her drain, which turned out to be false.

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Asking magistrates not to impose a custodial sentence, defence solicitor Callum Terry said Sugar had three children, one of whom had “significant learning and behavioural difficulties” and another who was only 11 and was home schooled.

He said her anti-social behaviour towards her neighbours had stopped two years previously and asked magistrates to take this into account when sentencing.

Sugar was currently facing her own health problems, he said, with investigations ongoing into pain and discomfort she was experiencing. He added:

“She moved to the North Yorkshire area having fled domestic violence. She was in a very abusive relationship and she fled that with support from various agencies.”

However, the prosecution said the impact of Sugar’s actions should not be underestimated. A victim impact statement written by the mother was read to the court.

In it, she said:

“[This situation] has eaten into my confidence, wellbeing and health. It has taken precious time away from the important, good things in my life, to try and get her to stop and now to get justice for my family.

“I have wasted so much of my time having to liaise with various people and organisations about her. All this unnecessary, negative work has taken me away from my husband and my children.”

Magistrates imposed a 12-week custodial sentence suspended for 18 months and ordered Sugar to pay a £128 surcharge and £300 costs.

They also imposed a two-year restraining order preventing Sugar from contacting the victims directly or indirectly.

Harrogate district woman found guilty of harassing neighbours

A Harrogate district woman has been found guilty of harassing her neighbours for almost a year.

Summer Sugar, 50, was found guilty of harassment by anti-social behaviour, including consistent noise nuisance, intense loud banging on walls for prolonged periods and playing loud music.

Sugar, of Masham, was also guilty of taking photos of her neighbours while they did work on their house and were in the garden, as well as making malicious complaints to Yorkshire Water about them blocking her drain, which turned out to be false.

The prosecution said the behaviour, which lasted from September 15, 2019 until August 25, 2020, caused the family next door “a severe amount of distress”.

Sugar was found guilty at North Yorkshire Magistrates Court, sitting in York, on Tuesday.

She was remanded on unconditional bail until July 26 when she will appear before York magistrates again.

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Gay man says Harrogate police take women victims of stalking more seriously

A man who was stalked and harassed by his former partner has accused police of failing to take the case seriously because he was a gay man. 

Jack* and his partner of five years, Paul*, who both live in Harrogate, broke up in early 2021.  

Although the split was instigated by his partner, and was initially amicable, Jack said Paul soon began to turn up at his house and at places he would usually visit. 

Jack said: 

“Though there was no physical altercation, he often targeted my home. He tried to gain entry and would often appear in the garden – on one occasion my dog was nearly killed.

“He’d shout at people visiting my home from his car, monitor my friends and families activities. He used to set up dating profiles attempting to send abuse. There were occasions where he used my credit card details for online purchases, turned up at my place of work, approach me in restaurants…

“There were numerous situations like that over the course of five months. He started locating me and rev his car next to me if I was out walking.

“It meant I couldn’t operate a normal life without some kind of obstruction and feeling very unsafe and frightened.”

Eventually, after realising how much Paul’s actions were affecting his social and work life, Jack decided to contact the police last June. 

He was initially uncertain whether the situation was something the police would deal with, but was reassured by the call handler. 

“Immediately, they said it was stalking and harassment. They said they would send someone out, and he called later that day to organise a visit. He came to take a statement within a couple of days. 

“He repeated to me that it was serious and said my ex would be brought in and arrested and they would impose bail conditions to keep him away from me.” 

Relieved

Jack said he felt relieved he was being taken seriously and waited to receive an update from the officer. 

However, he never received a call. 

“A month went by and nothing had happened. I tried to get in contact and had no response. 

“Another month went by of the same thing. I heard there was a warrant out for his arrest, but after that a lot of time went by with nothing, no arrest, no feedback.” 

Meanwhile, Paul’s behaviour continued to make Jack feel uncomfortable. Jack reported further instances of stalking and harassment, but never heard anything back. 

He received a call from a specialist police officer who advised getting new locks, increasing home security and changing his routine. While Jack appreciated the advice, it also served as a reminder that he could be in danger. 

Jack was advised by specialist police to change his locks and increase his home security

By mid-September, Jack said he felt frustrated that he had still heard nothing and submitted a complaint to the police by email. It took six weeks for them to respond. 

The answer from an inspector in early November was that the PC assigned to his case was inexperienced, and had been given advice about his work.  

Paul had now been interviewed, he said, and a file would be submitted to the CPS for advice about charging him. 

In an email seen by the Stray Ferret, the inspector added: 

“I am sorry that you didn’t receive the service you expected, but this was purely down to [the officer’s] relative inexperience, managing competing pressures of his workload and his thought process in not thinking it appropriate to ring [Paul] or visit his work premises.” 

Yet more time passed with no information from the police. Jack emailed again asking for updates, and for a copy of his original statement, but received no response. 

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He heard no further until February this year, when IDAS – the domestic abuse charity which he had been put in touch with by police after he first called them – told him the case had been dropped five weeks earlier. 

The reason was nothing to do with evidence or proof. Rather, Jack said, it was because the officer dealing with the case had only passed the file to the CPS a week before charges had to be made or the case had to be dropped. 

Effectively, there was not enough time for the CPS to process it before the six-month deadline for dealing with the case had passed. 

While he accepts there is nothing he can do in his case, Jack said he hopes raising the issue publicly will help other victims who might face similar problems. 

He believes complaints of stalking and harassment are taken more seriously when made by women about men, but said that shouldn’t be the case. 

Jack said: 

“I have spoken to women in Harrogate who have been in the same situation and that’s not what happened for them. I have no doubt, if I had been a woman, it would have been very different. 

“It’s not about being homophobic. But when it’s a man complaining about a man, it’s treated differently.” 

Jack has now taken his complaint to the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Zoe Metcalfe. He is awaiting a response from her. 

He said: 

“If I had read a story about this situation six or eight months ago, I would have done something sooner. I would have known it was not normal procedure – a lot of people would just assume you can’t complain [about the police] and what they say goes, but it’s not always the case.” 

Zoe Metcalfe, North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner

The Stray Ferret contacted North Yorkshire Police, but we were told they could not respond while the case was being investigated by the PFCC.  

The PFCC’s office said it could not comment on an individual case because of data protection. A spokesperson declined to comment on the issue of whether gender or sexuality could play a part in officers’ handling of cases, but added: 

“If somebody is not happy with anything that the police do, they should contact our office and make a complaint and we will investigate it.

“Let us know about it, because people should be happy. We don’t like it when people are unhappy with the service that’s provided by the police.”

 

*names changed to protect identities 

National Trust staff ‘bullied’ after Brimham Rocks TikTok video goes viral

The National Trust has said staff at Brimham Rocks have been subjected to bullying and harassment after a TikTok mobile DJ labelled them as “Karens” in his latest video.

DJ Zach Sabri, better known online as SUAT, claims he is “just trying to make the world dance” by blasting out rave music in unusual places.

But his latest stunt at Brimham Rocks, near Pateley Bridge, drew complaints from visitors that he was being too loud and that he was filming without permission.

National Trust staff approached the TikTok star and asked if he had permission to film there. He did not, so they asked him to leave.

He filmed the exchange with staff and included it in his TikTok video, which has now been viewed more than two million times.

In the video caption SUAT claimed: “Karen never lets me rock climb.”

‘Karen’ is used a derogatory term online to describe a woman deemed to be entitled or demanding.

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A National Trust spokesperson said:

“Visitors are very welcome to take photographs and videos of the outdoor places we care for. There’s no additional charge for personal photography.

“We do ask that anyone looking to use photographs or videos for commercial use seek permission beforehand. If approved, any associated fees are used for vital conservation work to care for places featured.

“Permission is also required before filming or photographing National Trust staff and volunteers, who have a right to privacy.

“When filming at Brimham Rocks, DJ Suat was approached by staff who wanted to act on behalf of other visitors. They had received a number of complaints on the day about the noise.

“Unfortunately, as a result of this particular video, staff and their families have since been subjected to harassment and bullying, online and in person, for which we are supporting them.”

Harrogate council staff review highlights bullying and harassment claims

Staff have made allegations of bullying, harassment and undermining at Harrogate Borough Council.

As part of an ongoing review into pay at the authority, some staff responded to a survey with claims that their bosses “work together to threaten” and “get what they want” from more junior colleagues.

One member of staff said in a report that the council “bullies and harasses its staff regularly,” adding:

“I have been on the receiving end of this – the lies, being made to feel incompetent, being bullied and harassed on returning to work.

“Harrogate Borough Council needs to take a long hard look at itself.”

Reacting to the allegations, David Houlgate, secretary of the trade union Unison Harrogate, which represents council workers, said the claims were “not a surprise”. But he added he did not believe there was a “culture” of bullying at the authority:

“The council is a large employer with over 1,000 staff. It is sadly inevitable that bullying behaviour will and does occur.

“The council has policies and procedures to deal with these. When our members come to us with complaints we fully expect the council to engage with us and fully respond and resolve the issues being raised.

“If we feel this is not happening, then we do involve our legal representatives but this does not happen very often.”

A spokesperson for the council said there had been two complaints of inappropriate behaviour and one grievance regarding bullying and harassment raised in 2021. These are currently under investigation.

In 2020, one grievance was raised regarding bullying and harassment with no further action taken at either stages one or two of the grievance procedure.

And in 2019, one complaint of bullying and harassment was investigated and an appropriate level of warning issued.

The spokesperson said: “Sadly, at some time or another, all employers will have to deal with bullying and/or harassment in their workplace.

“It is something we will not stand for and any incident is dealt with in accordance our behaviour policy. Thankfully, these reports are very few and far between.

“It is encouraging to see that the Local Government Association agree that our new pay and grading structure is consistent with the national position.”

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The allegations were made as part of a review into pay, which could see 17 of the council’s most senior staff next month get pay rises totalling around £133,000 between them.

Meanwhile, mainstream workers, who had their pay structure reviewed more recently two years ago, are currently in negotiations for a further rise.

This is after a study concluded the recruitment and retention of staff was challenging and that pay was a factor.

Out of the 553 employees who responded to the survey held in August, over 80% gave pay as one of the main reasons why they would consider quitting their jobs.

Mr Houlgate said staff have been offered a “derisory” 1.5% pay rise this year – an increase which he believes does not go far enough to recognise them as the “unsung heroes” of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Unison has been clear for a long time that levels of pay for council staff has been a major contributory factor in relation to recruitment and retention issues.

“We have seen a decade of staff being overworked and undervalued whilst enduring significant real term pay cuts, redundancies and increased workloads.

“The council now seems to be waking up to this and says it is putting things in place to tackle these issues but we have real concerns about the timeframe it has set and whether it will deliver on these.

“This needs to happen now otherwise people will leave.”

As well as the bullying and harassment allegations, and complaints over pay, several staff also responded to the survey with positive comments about working at the council.

Positive comments from the survey

Negative comments from the survey

Do you have experience of bullying at the council? Write to us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk

77% women have been sexually harassed in a pub, says Harrogate-based survey

A survey organised by a Harrogate company shows 77% of women and 27% of men have experienced sexual harassment whilst visiting a pub.

The survey received 741 responses and was set up by Women on Tap, a Harrogate community interest company which hosts an annual festival to remove stigma around women drinking beer.

It said the respondents were mainly local to the Harrogate district but also included a proportion from the North West and London.

The results were “shocking and worrying”, according to the event co-ordinator Nichola Bottomley, who said more needs to be done locally to tackle the issue.

The survey also found that only 9% of respondents who witnessed harassment had reported it to the police. Also, whilst working in a bar, 73% of women and 38% of men said they have been harassed.

Ms Bottomley said:

“One of the quotes we received on the survey was ‘you just become numb to it’ and that really stuck with me. But it is true for so many women. It’s awful. We really need to do something about this.”

Ms Bottomley, who has been harassed in Harrogate, says the results will be discussed with local bar owners, licensing organisations and North Yorkshire Police in hopes of finding solutions.

She is also hoping to build an education tool from the results to be used in schools for teenagers to teach them how to be safe.

She said:

“I do think hard stats are the only way to get through to people sometimes. I really hope the results will help people open their eyes in hopes of making change.

“As someone who works in a bar it’s important for me to talk to bar owners and staff to make sure they can and are comfortable handling a situation if someone reported something to them.”

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The survey was in collaboration with Chalk Back, an international movement, using chalk drawing to raise awareness for harassment. The festival has hosted two chalk events this weekend with quotes from the story written on Harrogate’s streets.

The survey’s respondents were mainly local to the Harrogate district but also included a proportion from the North West and London.