The appellant had been convicted by the magistrates of an offence under section 2 of the Act. He had made three abusive telephone calls within a few minutes of one another to the victim’s mobile, in the middle of the night. The victim did not receive the calls at that time and they were recorded on her voicemail facility. In the morning she listened to all three messages one after the other. He submitted that the three calls were all so much part and parcel of one another that there was no course of conduct, and that in any event the victim had to feel alarm on more than one occasion.
Held: The appeal failed. Each call was abusive and alarming, but the peculiar facts there were that the calls were very close in time and the victim was only alarmed on one occasion.
Burton J said: ‘Similarly, the purpose of the Act, it seems to me plain, is intended to render actionable conduct which might not be alarming if committed once, but becomes alarming by virtue of being repeated – the repetitious conduct to which Latham LJ referred [in Pratt (2001) 165 JP 800] . . It seems to me that . . what was intended was that something which might not be alarming the first time would become actionable, criminally and civilly, on the second occasion. It is, therefore, in my judgment, not necessary for there to be alarm caused in relation to each of the incidents relied upon as forming part of the course of conduct. It is sufficient if, by virtue of the course of conduct, the victim is alarmed or distressed.’
Judges:
Burton J
Citations:
[2003] Crim LR 45, [2002] EWHC Admin 1428, [2002] 166 JP 621
Statutes:
Protection from Harassment Act 1997 2
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Iqbal v Dean Manson Solicitors CA 15-Feb-2011
The claimant sought protection under the Act from his former employers’ behaviour in making repeated allegations against him. He appealed against the striking out of his claim.
Held: The appeal suceeded. The matter should go to trial. The . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Torts – Other
Updated: 11 May 2022; Ref: scu.429626
