A SELF-STYLED rapper and model who stalked a Miss England finalist and dedicated his Britain's Got Talent audition song to her has been jailed.

Obsessed Jonathan Deal, 39, launched a campaign of harassment against Samantha Bumford after 'falling in love' with her on Facebook.

He besieged the beauty queen with unwanted messages over social media and turned up uninvited at several of her shows.

Deal, an aspiring rapper whose stage name is JAYD, told her he was going to audition for Britain's Got Talent with a song he wrote for her.

His infatuation culminated in him following her to the finals of Miss England in Nottingham, where he tried to kiss her as she came off stage.

Miss Bumford, 25, said she was forced to shove him away and flee towards her family.

Feeling spurned, Deal later sent her a message in which he claimed that she had only done so well in the Miss England competition because judges thought she was his girlfriend.

Miss Bumford, a trainee primary school teacher from Poole, was eventually forced to block her unwanted admirer on Facebook.

Deal, who had previously admitted stalking, was today sentenced to 23 weeks in prison by magistrates at Poole.

Bournemouth Echo:

The victim, who is the reigning Miss Poole and 2017 Miss England Social Media queen, sobbed as she told the court of how the ordeal had 'ruined her life'.

She said: "I'm constantly on edge and have been placed on medication because of this experience.

"For the first time since starting, I don't want to do this (modelling).

"I'm not sleeping and am constantly looking over my shoulder. It has completely ruined my life."

The magistrates heard how the stalking took place between August 31 and September 10 last year.

On September 4, Deal, who lives in Manor Road, Bournemouth, travelled 200 miles to watch Miss Bumford compete in the Miss England Beauty Championships.

At the event he gifted her a necklace which she wore on stage, a sign which Deal "misread".

After finishing in the top 20 she attempted to leave the floor but was accosted by Deal, who tried to forcibly kiss her on the lips.

Jason Spellman, prosecuting, said: "The defendant has had a significant impact on Miss Bumford's life and has a long record of incidents relating to stalking and harassment.

"He sent several messages via Facebook declaring his love for her.

"Each time she responded with a generic response saying she loved all her fans and thanking him for his support.

"On September 4, she was competing at a Miss England event in Nottingham when she came in the top 20.

"As she left the stage he grabbed her and the arms and body and tried to kiss her on the lips.

"She shouted for him to get off and had to be forceful."

Deal has 19 previous offences relating to harassment and stalking incidents dating back to 2003.

Simon Lacey, mitigating, said: "Mr Deal sees things very literally and in this case has obviously misread some signs.

"He has troubles forming relationships and no one in the past has seemed to get to the root of the issue."

Jailing him, magistrates said: "The impact you have had on the victim has been very serious and you have had an impact on her mental state.

"As there is a history of similar offences we think the incident is serious enough to warrant a custodial sentence.

"You will also be handed a restraining order running indefinitely."

Deal was also handed an indefinite restraining order and ordered to pay £500 compensation to Miss Bumford.

Detective Constable Neil Causebrook, of Bournemouth CID, said: “Jonathan Deal became obsessed and fixated with Samantha Bumford and his behaviour escalated over a very short period of time. He stalked and harassed her and caused her a great deal of concern and distress.

“I hope the sentence handed out by the court today will reassure Samantha that she can go about her life without fear of being harassed by Deal again. If he breaches the restraining order he will find himself back before the court.

“Dorset Police recognises the impact stalking and harassment can have on victims – these can be devastating and long-lasting.

“I would encourage anyone who believes they are a victim of stalking or harassment to have the confidence to come forward and contact Dorset Police on 101 or 999 in an emergency. We are here to help and have officers trained to support victims and investigate these types of offences.”