Netflix stalker Matthew Hardy targeted Wiltshire mum

Kristen Dugdale, 31, was targeted by Hardy - dubbed Britain's worst cyberstalker - who has been jailed for nine years. 

She was first contacted in February 2019 by an anonymous Instagram account claiming they had an important message about her then-husband. 

This was followed by a two-year ordeal which left her 'scared for her life' and saw her accused of sleeping with her then-husband's father and her photos used to sell adult content without her consent. 

Hardy even subjected her to a barrage of anonymous phone calls and insults - calling her "disgusting" and telling her to "stick to taking your clothes off".

She became convinced it was someone she knew - and stopped trusting those close to her, and it drove a wedge between her and her now-ex.

Kristen contacted police but the abuse didn't stop until Hardy was arrested.

She was not involved in the court case against Hardy but police confirmed she was a victim of the prolific stalker.

Hardy, who created hundreds of fake social media accounts, is believed to have targeted 63 victims over 11 years, according to reports.

Speaking for the first time, the mum-of-one said she's still haunted by his daily messages.

“I was scared for my life at one point," she said.

"I lost my confidence and my trust in people around me.

"Before I knew it was Hardy, this random person from a place I had never been to, I was questioning everyone around me. 

“It affected my mental health, and it’s not fair – it's had a lasting impact on me, and I lost friends. 

“I ended up getting into a lot of arguments with my ex over it. It affected our relationship."

Kristen, an ex-model, says she was first contacted by Hardy in early February 2019 - when he contacted her anonymously on Instagram to imply she had slept with her ex-husband's best friend. 

Things quickly escalated and Kristen began receiving regular phone calls multiple times a day and abusive messages from numbers she didn’t recognise. 

She says sometimes he would call from withheld numbers and stay silent or breathe into the end of the phone or send her texts saying he wouldn't leave her alone, reminding her that he knew her family, and calling her "fat". 

Fake profiles pretending to be her started popping up on Instagram – with Kristen saying some accounts were even seeming to sell adult content using her images. 

Kristen says Hardy seemed to know the names of her friends and family - mentioning her ex-husband's friends' names, and even their wives and girlfriends' names.

In one instance he contacted her and her ex-partner's dad directly to accuse them of sleeping together - to Kristen’s horror. 

It made her believe the person hounding her online was someone she knew in person. 

Despite first contacting Wiltshire Police in September 2019, the campaign of abuse continued until Hardy was arrested - and all contact stopped. 

Hardy was convicted in Cheshire Crown Court on January 26 this year following an investigation by PC Kevin Anderson with Cheshire Police. 

Kristen's final interaction with the cyberstalker was on October 26 2020 when she told him she'd contacted the police.

But Kristen says the experience has stuck with her and still affects her now. 

She said: “It was so scary at that time – I started accusing people I knew, I didn't trust anyone.

“He seemed to know loads of really personal stuff about me, it was just awful, he alienated me from trusting some of my ex-partner’s friends and even family."