[A] FORMER soldier has been sentenced for making unwanted and illegal approaches to his ex-wife on three separate days.
Peter Thomas Drinkwater, 45, was handed a restraining order last year which prevented any contact with Deborah Wilkinson, to whom he had been married for 18 years
But in February he sent her a card on her 40th birthday, and days later had a Valentine’s Day package delivered which included a single rose and chocolates.
Then, on February 26, Drinkwater followed Miss Wilkinson in a separate vehicle as she drove on the A69 from Carlisle to Newcastle. She suffered a “panic attack” during what she later described as an “horrific” ordeal.
Drinkwater, who served in the Armed Forces for 24 years, admitted three breaches of the restraining order, and was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court today (WED). He was said both to accept their relationship was now over, and realise the “distress and harm” caused to the victim.
Drinkwater, of Bowness Court, Workington, had a 48-week prison term suspended for two years. He must complete rehabilitation, a night-time curfew and “building better relationships” course.
He was also banned from contacting Miss Wilkinson for the next five years.