A COUPLE tried to blackmail a man when a 20-year grudge resurfaced.

Stuart Webster and Kathleen Salkeld threatened to tell police that their victim was a paedophile unless he gave them his £200 benefits money.

Two decades earlier, Webster's then-partner was frightened when she encountered the man dressed in women's underwear in the street.

Teesside Crown Court head that he was "having some sexual identity issues" and "going through a phase", and there was "an altercation" between the two men.

Then in May last year, Webster saw him again in Darlington as he walked home, and he and Salkeld approached him.

Webster said "Oh, you're living here now, are you?" and followed him to his flat and forced their way in as he opened the door, prosecutor Lisa McCormick told the court.

After looking at the 50-year-old's computer for photographs, Webster forced the terrified man to admit he was a paedophile as he recorded him on his mobile phone.

They reached an agreement that he would hand over his benefits when they arrived the following week, and Salkeld took belongings including a Kindle book-reader in lieu.

The man contacted his supervisor at work and she insisted he told the police, and the devious pair were arrested.

Jailing them, Judge Stephen Ashurst said Webster was "getting his own back for incidents that should have been buried well in the past".

He told them: "The offence of blackmail is always regarded as a serious offence. It is in some respects a vicious and pernicious offence because of the effect it has on the victim.

"He was effectively a prisoner in his own home. He was terrified and crying.

"You, Stuart Webster made a video clip on your phone getting him to confess he was a pervert to embarrass him.

"What is interesting is that there was a dry-run, and you were telling him what to say. It was a harrowing episode with him shaking, crying and distressed.

"I believe both of you took the view he was a soft touch.

"Had he not had the foresight to speak to his employer, he could well have been the victim of repeat offending. Of course, I sentence you for what you did, not what you might have done."

Webster, 40, of Mowden Terrace, Darlington, was found guilty after a trial and was jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Salkeld, 24, whose address at the time of the offence was the same, admitted blackmail and was given 18 months. She is already serving a three-year sentence for assaults on two women in York.

The court heard that Webster got engaged to his new partner during a lunch-break in proceedings, and Judge Ashurst told him: "A prison sentence is going to mark a very bad start with your fiancée."

He told Salkeld: "This was an extremely serious offence while you were on bail for offences of violence."

David Callan, for Webster, said: "There was a grudge here, which seemed to be a genuine grudge in that his girlfriend years ago had been frightened by the complainant.

"He has a new partner, Sarah. They have got engaged today. She has her own property. She will stand by him while he serves his sentence."

Tom Mitchell, for Salkeld, admitted although Webster initiated the blackmail, she "got vigorously involved".

He said: "She has expressed genuine and real remorse. For what it's worth, she offered to take part in some form of restorative justice, but it seems the complainant doesn't want anything to do with either of them ever again, and I don't blame him."

Judge Ashurst also imposed an indefinite restraining order banning the pair from contacting or going close to the victim.

The court heard that he was prosecuted for having indecent images on his computer and has been dealt with.