A MAN who saw himself as a community figure tried to blacken the name of a witness in a court case against him prior to an appeal hearing.

In an email to the betting chain Ladbrokes Coral, headed with the woman’s name, followed by the words ‘Liar/Thief’, Graeme Edward Whitworth accused her of “dipping her hands into the till” of her employer, as well as committing perjury in court.

Durham Crown Court heard it meant the woman, who had a 12-year good work record, came under the scrutiny of an internal inquiry by the bookmaking firm.

Although no action was taken following the investigation, Whitworth’s actions cast suspicion over her character.

When she was cleared of wrong-doing, Whitworth abandoned his plan to challenge his conviction for an assault on another woman in a school gate row, on the eve of the appeal hearing.

Instead, it landed him back in the dock, as he was charged with perverting the course of justice and witness intimidation.

On the day of his scheduled trial, in July, the 48-year-old defendant, of Greentree Lane Catchgate, near Stanley, admitted witness intimidation, which was accepted by the prosecution.

His sentencing hearing was told the victim of his malicious emails would now think twice about assisting in the criminal justice process.

Tony Davis, mitigating, told the court: “The reality is that this was an offence doomed to failure and to him being discovered responsible, as he made no attempt to disguise the fact it was he who wrote to her employers without any evidence whatsoever to support the allegations he made.

“He was acting in a naïve manner in the extreme.”

Mr Davis said it arose as Whitworth felt he had, “lost all self-esteem”, having been a prospective local councillor and prominent in the community

He was also suffering medical issues, at the time.

Judge Jonathan Carroll said Whitworth’s “utterly scurrilous and false allegations” had to, initially, be taken seriously, casting a shadow over the character of an innocent woman.

He imposed an eight-month prison sentence and made Whitworth subject to a ten-year restraining order prohibiting contact with the victim in the case.