THE neighbour of a sex pest who was terrorised for almost a decade told last night of her joy that he will not be allowed to move back to his home after being freed from prison.

Mandy Dunford could not hide her delight after Kenneth Ward – jailed for five years in 2011 – will also have to wear an electronic tag for ten years so police can monitor him.

Speaking outside of court after a landmark ruling, the former police officer said: "I can't describe the relief I'm feeling. I'm elated with the result. I've got my life back."

Ms Dunford, 55, faced the prospect of having to sell what she described as her dream retirement home – a remote farmhouse in Chop Gate in the North Yorkshire Moors.

She had packed her bags and was ready to leave the cottage this weekend if pervert Ward, 69, had been allowed to move back to his ramshackle property next door.

The military expert was jailed for five years for possessing a cache of arms, including a loaded Luger pistol, and for exposing himself to his neighbour on an almost daily basis.

He would often hide in bushes before performing a sex act in front of her, and even climbed a ladder to expose himself to her over a garden wall, Teesside Crown Court heard.

The Northern Echo: Kenneth Ward was recorded exposing himself in front of his neighbour

Judge Peter Armstrong described the disgusting acts as a relentless campaign of intimidation which was designed to drive his neighbour out of her home.

Ms Dunford said "He hunted me down day in and day out. I was frightened to death to walk out my door. He lived in a holly bush outside my house from first light.

"I can't really describe the difference today's decision has made to my life, and I can live where I want to live. I'm going to stand in my farmyard and say 'it's mine to keep, he can't come back'.

North Yorkshire Police made an application to the court to amend a Sexual Offence Prevention Order which now excludes him from an area roughly five miles around Chop Gate - effectively making him homeless.

Judge Armstrong heard how Ward had breached conditions of his licence when he was released having served half his sentence, leading him to be returned to prison.

While on licence he appeared in a Channel Five show The Nightmare Neighbour Next Door in which he said he would continue to upset Ms Dunford by making her think he was going to return to his rented home, where his ancestors have lived since 1640.

Ms Dunford thanked her Tory MP Rishi Sunak, who represents Richmond, after he raised her case with the Attorney General and North Yorkshire Police.

Mr Sunak said the original court order made to protect Ward's victim was "inadequate", adding: "Mandy Dunford faced the terrifying prospect of her ordeal starting all over again.

"Kenneth Ward has shown no remorse for his offences and Mandy can have had no confidence that she could live in her own home safely.

"I'm delighted the order has been changed and perhaps Mandy can now rest easy in her home with some peace of mind."
Judge Armstrong said: "I have no confidence if he was able to return he would behave in such a way as to enable Miss Mandy Dunford to live peacefully and calmly in her home."

She wept at the outcome of the case, having held her head in her hands for much of the 90-minute proceedings yesterday, while War - who had been brought from jail - sat just yards away.

"Sitting in court was unbearable, it was horrible, it was make or break," she said. "I can now have the life I wanted, doing what I want.
"My house was absolutely cleared because I needed to be out this weekend, and that was heart-breaking, now it can all go back. It's going to take a long time, but at least I will be feeling better.

She said her harassment ordeal lasted for years, and Ward would lie in wait for her in a holly bush and silently stare before with exposing himself to her.
"He was a total psycho," she said.

"He never said anything to me. He never spoke. He just locked his eyes on you - staring, creepy eyes."