Sally Loveland, of Southampton, first received £1,000 and a note saying that the cash was to “offer a little help to show that all your good work has not gone unnoticed”, Lyndhurst Magistrates’ Court in Hampshire was told. The note, purportedly from “a disappointed admirer”, said he wanted to cuddle her “when times were bad”. Eight months later, in December 2004, a letter containing £1,020 was hand-delivered.

Mrs Loveland, 51, who is divorced, had had no idea who the gifts were from and had felt “physically sick” with fear. In 2005 she received an anonymous Valentine card, followed by £1,000 in June. The gifts made her feel “cheap and dirty”, she said.

The culprit was unmasked after Mrs Loveland and police hatched an elaborate plot. First, Mrs Loveland began to tell friends that she was flattered by the letters and hoped to find their author. Then she said that she had actually been distressed and had called in police.

Gina Russell, whose late daughter had lived next door to Mrs Loveland, learnt of her distress, and when Mrs Russell’s husband, James, found out he asked his wife to tell her he had sent the letters.

Russell, 63, who is retired, told police that he had been “gutted” to discover that Mrs Loveland was upset. His motive had simply been to repay her support for his daughter while she had been going through a divorce, he said. He told the court that he had left clues in the letters that should have enabled Mrs Loveland to identify him. Had he offered her the cash, part of a legacy, she would have refused it, so he decided to remain anonymous, he said.

The court was told that despite Russell’s claims that the letters were harmless, they were full of declarations of love.

At one stage during the hearing it was disclosed that Mrs Russell, who had been unaware of the letters’ contents, had been handed copies during the trial. Russell’s barrister, Ruth Paley, told magistrates that Mrs Russell had fled the court in tears. The letters, along with witness statements, had been “maliciously” handed to Mrs Russell, she said. Court officers are investigating the matter.

Russell denied any obsession with or sexual attraction to Mrs Loveland. He told the court he regretted what he had done and added: “I felt it was obvious it was coming from me. I hoped the money would go to ease a financial burden she mentioned to my daughter.”

Russell, of Yeovil, Somerset, denied harassment, but magistrates said that a reasonable man should have known the letters were likely to distress and alarm the recipient. He was ordered to pay £250 costs, £1,000 compensation and do 60 hours’ community work. A two-year restraining order was issued, preventing him from contacting Mrs Loveland.

After the trial Mrs Loveland said that she had been so scared, she had had panic buttons installed in each room. She added: “I was looking at every car with suspicion. I was aware of everyone around me, thinking it could be him.”

She had been shocked to find out it was Russell, with whom she had only ever exchanged a few words. “I cannot understand why he did it,” she said.

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