TV broadcaster and Manchester City presenter Natalie Pike has opened up about her stalking hell after a distressing incident at a Premier League match
TV broadcaster and Manchester City presenter Natalie Pike has opened up on her stalking hell after a distressing eight-month ordeal. Natalie, 43, took to social media to share a statement after a man pleaded guilty to stalking involving serious alarm or distress.
The presenter’s sanctuary of the Etihad Stadium was breached after she spotted the man standing uncomfortably close to the barriers during City’s 2-1 win over Newcastle in February.
She said: “I just had a sense that something wasn’t right. So I looked over my shoulder, and I instantly saw him – the man from the picture.” Natalie has found the picture on Instagram following a traumatic eight days.
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Natalie’s phone had a spate of missed calls from her hairdresser and her eight-year-old son’s school after two men had pulled up in a van outside the salon, saying they knew Natalie as a customer and demanded to know where she lived.
The hairdresser alerted the school, which was just down the road. “My friend said that I just went white,” she told The Telegraph. “I had no idea what it could mean. So I did what we tend to do as women, and I started investigating myself.”
Natalie said she trawled through hidden Instagram messages before noticing a large amount across 18 months from one account.
She recalled: “They began in the usual way: ‘Happy birthday’, ‘You’re beautiful’, that kind of thing. Then they started deteriorating. So I took a screenshot of this person’s profile, sent it to my hairdresser, and she instantly confirmed it was the same man she had seen.”
It would be the same man the former model saw at City, but by the time she had a clear view, he had bounded up the stairs to the concourse to avoid detection.
Natalie took action into her own hands, saying: “I ran up to the public address announcer’s room, and I had my first experience of a panic attack. I stood in a corner, burst out crying, and I just couldn’t catch my breath.
“Police took it seriously, and through the stadium CCTV they were able to pinpoint him. There was a moment when they traced his steps coming into the ground, and it was harrowing to watch. He never took his eyes off me. He came in at the back of the stand and then, over a 20-minute period, moved down and stopped several times until he was about a metre away from me.”
She continued to explain: “They arrested the guy the morning after the match, they came to my house to take my full statement, and they just went full steam ahead from there.
“I later found out that he had been messaging my best friend, her husband, plus other people I know. When police went through his devices, they found pictures of him sitting in the pub around the corner from my house. There were even photographs of my ex-husband’s car.”
Following the man’s guilty plea, Natalie took to social media to say: “At the end of September, an individual was sentenced after pleading guilty to stalking me, involving serious alarm or distress. The court imposed a custodial sentence, suspended, alongside other requirements and a restraining order preventing him from contacting me directly or indirectly.
“For eight months, this has been something I have had to deal with alongside every other part of my life, and at times it has been incredibly difficult. I hope this marks the end of one of the hardest periods of my life and allows me to finally close this chapter and move forward.
“Over the last eight months I have tried really hard to not let what was happening take over my life. I have carried on working and doing a job I love.
“I’ve travelled, laughed, spent precious time with my mum who is living with stage four cancer, and had so many genuinely happy and joyful moments. But alongside all of that, there have been times behind the scenes when I’ve been really frightened, overwhelmed and found it really difficult to keep going.
“Only a handful of people knew what I was dealing with. I suppose I want to share that because it’s a reminder that someone’s happiness can be completely genuine, while at the same time they can be going through something incredibly difficult that you know nothing about.
“I want to say a huge thank you to the police, who took what was happening to me seriously from the moment I reported it. I felt listened to, believed and supported throughout.
“I’m incredibly grateful to everyone involved in bringing the case through the courts and for the care and support I received throughout that process. And I cannot thank Manchester City enough. One of the incidents happened at the stadium and from that day they have been incredible.
“During the game, they quite literally swept me up and immediately put measures in place to protect me. Since then, so many different people and departments across the club have supported me.
“From the security team who looked after me that day, to the people who continue to check in on me, and the changes they’ve made to security and travel arrangements to help keep me safe. Their support has been unwavering and continues to this day. It has meant more to me than I can say.”
Natalie then paid tribute to family and friends who have supported her throughout the ordeal. She continued: “One of the main reasons I have decided to speak publicly about this is because I want anyone who is experiencing stalking to know that there is help and support available.
“My experience of reporting this to the police was a positive one. I was listened to, believed and taken seriously from the very beginning. I know the statistics around stalking can make frightening reading, but please don’t let that stop you from reporting what is happening or asking for help.
“I also cannot thank the Suzy Lamplugh Trust enough for the counselling and specialist support they have given me over the last eight months, and for the incredible work they do every day. If you’re going through something similar, please reach out to them. You don’t have to deal with it on your own.
“I didn’t have to attend court. I chose to. I was offered a screen so that I wouldn’t have to see him. I chose not to use it. Instead, I stood in that courtroom, in front of him, and read my Victim Personal Statement.
“I needed him to hear from me the impact his actions had had on my life. But I also needed to do it for myself. I wanted to take some of my power back. What happened to me has affected me, but it will not define me.
“I will keep doing the job I love. I will keep laughing, travelling, working, loving my life and finding reasons to be joyful and grateful. We cannot always control the actions of other people. But we can refuse to let their actions decide the life we get to live.”