Matthew Hardy from Cheshire enacted a marketing campaign of stalking and harassment on-line that spanned over a decade.
His relentless on-line persecutions tore aside friendships, relationships – and even practically ruined the marriage day of considered one of his victims.
Others lived in a lot concern that they slept with samurai swords and baseball bats by their beds.
However regardless of terrorising younger ladies for over a decade, it wasn’t till January 2022 that Hardy was served with a custodial sentence of 9 years.
As Can I Inform You A Secret is about to air on Netflix, FEMAIL takes a take a look at how Britain’s worst cyberstalker who managed to dodge justice for 11 years.
Matthew Hardy – Britain’s worst cyberstalker – enacted a tirade of stalking and harassment on-line that spanned over a decade. MailOnline takes a take a look at how he dodged justice for thus lengthy
When did Matthew Hardy’s stalking start?
Hardy’s cyber crimes started when he was in secondary college in 2006.
As Facebook was in its infancy, so too have been Hardy’s stalking and harassment tendencies.
The then-teenager had a tough time in secondary college based on classmates, who stated he was usually teased and bullied.
Gina, who attended the identical college in Northwich, stated she usually felt sorry for Hardy.
She instructed The Guardian in 2022: ‘He was remoted, I used to make an effort to say hello.’
However when his friends and younger ladies in faculties close by rushed in droves to enroll to Fb, Hardy started to make use of the platform to stalk them.
In line with the publication, he stalked 25 ladies alone from one college in Cheshire.
Melanie (not her actual title) who was his first sufferer, shared that the women at school rapidly cottoned on that the nameless particular person messaging them about dishonest boyfriends was Hardy.
However all the pieces got here to a head when Hardy instructed Melanie that her deceased mom had been having an affair.

Amy Bailey (pictured), who was additionally a pupil from Northwich, was solely 16 when Hardy started to harass her in 2011. At one level Hardy would name her 50 occasions a day
Telling police that she ‘could not deal with’ the harassment from Hardy anymore, authorities stated there was nothing they might do as a result of it was on-line.
Amy Bailey, who was additionally a pupil from Northwich, was solely 16 when Hardy started to harass her in 2011, barraging her cellphone with 90 calls a day.
She instructed The Guardian: ‘One time, he stated he noticed me washing a automotive, One other time, he commented on the color of my high. I went in and began crying.’
Nevertheless, when she instructed Cheshire police about Hardy’s stalking she was instructed to delete her social media accounts and block his quantity.
That very same 12 months Hardy was convicted of hacking and harassing one other ex-classmate, Samantha Boniface.
Two years later in 2013, he pleaded responsible to harassing and hacking Amy Bailey and was served with a restraining order and suspended sentence.
Bailey reported Hardy to police three separate occasions of breaching his restraining order – as soon as in 2014, one other in 2015 and once more in 2017.
Hardy’s convictions didn’t appear to discourage him as he went on to undertake one other sufferer – Gina Martin – in 2013.
She would get up to new messages from individuals day by day who had interacted with an impersonation account Hardy had created of her.
His fixed tirades started to make Martin scared of visiting her dad and mom house as she was conscious he solely lived 5 minutes away.
Finally, she too reported Hardy to the Cheshire constabulary in 2016.
In September 2016, he was arrested below warning, however in April 2017 the Crown Prosecution Service declined to go ahead with the case.
These weren’t the one ladies had tormented from the world, Hardy’s periodic harassment of Northwich pupils ultimately amounted to 25 years.
However his disturbing tendencies did not finish there.
Hardy would forged his internet additional afield, stalking ladies within the surrounding space after which ladies who he had by no means even met in any respect.
How did Hardy evade justice for 11 years?

Abby Furness (pictured) stated she was made to really feel ‘actually foolish’ when she initially reported Hardy to Kent police in July 2020. He continued to stalk her till September 2021
The serial offender started concentrating on ladies with massive social media followings, with whom he had no reference to in any respect.
Amongst these ladies focused by Hardy was Zoe Hallam, who first obtained a message which learn ‘Can I let you know a secret?’ on Snapchat from Hardy in 2018.
These messages then progressed to silent cellphone calls, which might see Hardy taunting Hallam for crying in concern on the cellphone.
Hardy even went to the lengths of impersonating her spouse’s father on-line and fascinating in inappropriate conversations with teenage ladies, tarnishing his status as a health care provider.
Hallam felt she was liable for her spouse’s father’s status changing into stained – a sentiment shared by lots of Hardy’s victims.
Finally, issues turned so scary for Hallam, that she slept with a samurai sword subsequent to her mattress.
In April 2019, she reported him to Lincolnshire police however they claimed there was nothing they might do.
They stated that they might solely hint numbers for ‘excessive profile’ instances akin to rape or homicide.
Abby Furness, whose relationships have been additionally ripped aside by Hardy’s on-line torment, was made to really feel like she was losing police time when spoke out.
Since he started stalking her in 2019, Hardy had despatched intimate images of her to her boss, he had destroyed her relationship and even impersonated her on-line.
However when she ultimately reported him in July 2020, based on Furness, Kent police implied she was overreacting.
Admitting she felt ‘actually foolish’ after the cellphone name, Furness recalled: ‘They stated: “Do you actually assume you might be in peril? As a result of we’re 20 minutes away from you and one thing may occur over right here.”
Although Hardy harassed her till September 2021, she felt there was no level in contacting authorities once more after her preliminary correspondence with Kent police.
When was Matthew Hardy caught?

Hardy had terrorised ladies for over ten years earlier than Cheshire’s PC Kevin Anderson (pictured) was assigned to the case in December 2019

Lia Marie Hambly (pictured had documented over 700 pages containing communications from Hardy, which was a large enhance in serving to PC Anderson strengthen the case
Hardy was arrested a complete of ten occasions earlier than he was ultimately put behind bars.
As soon as Cheshire’s PC Kevin Anderson was assigned to the case in December 2019, his decade lengthy tirades of stalking and harassment would ultimately come to an finish.
While trawling by Cheshire constabulary’s methods, Anderson made a disturbing discovery.
Over 100 logs had been made concerning Hardy to the constabulary from 62 separate victims.
While within the technique of contacting Hardy’s victims, he observed one was a former paralegal named Lia Marie Hambly.
Hambly had documented over 700 pages containing communications from Hardy, which was a large enhance in serving to Anderson strengthen the case.
In January 2022 Mathew Hardy was sentenced to 9 years in jail after pleading responsible to harassment and stalking involving concern of violence and harassment.
Although solely 9 instances have been taken under consideration throughout Hardy’s sentencing the definitive variety of his victims is probably going within the lots of.
Anderson instructed the Evening Standard that there have been seemingly ‘too many to understand’.