Cheryl Tweedy’s stalker who turned up at her house as she grieved for Liam Payne has been revealed for the first time.
Convicted killer Daniel Bannister, 50, was today jailed for 16 weeks for breaching a restraining order he was handed in September.
Bannister was said to have become ‘fixated’ with the Girls Aloud star, 41, and caused her ‘serious alarm’ by turning up at the mansion she shares with her son Bear.
Tweedy, who was not at High Wycombe Magistrate’s Court today, did not provide any victim impact statement to be read out at her stalker’s sentencing.
But in an earlier statement provided to the Crown Prosecution Service she said his repeated attempts to contact her left her feeling ‘violated’ and in fear of her life. She also said she feared for the safety of her son.
The court was told the stalker turned up at her home on three occasions in January, July and December of last year.
Tweedy told police she ‘immediately panicked’ when she spotted Bannister outside her home.
‘I knew this was Daniel because I have had previous incidents where Daniel has come to my property,’ she told police at the time.
‘I was concerned he was looking for a way into the property.’
The singer told officers her son was due back from the cinema, and did not want him to see the stalker, the court heard.
‘I want to protect my child from any harm.’
Having spent almost three months on remand, Bannister is likely to be released within weeks.
District judge Arvind Sharma told Bannister he had to impose an immediate custodial sentence and said a new indefinite restraining order meant he could never contact Tweedy.
He was banned from entering any building where he suspects Tweedy to be present and could not contact her on social media.
Bannister, who wore a prison issue grey tracksuit, smiled in the dock when the court was told he had asked Tweedy for a glass of wine when he called at her home.
Prosecutor Datta Ryan said Tweedy had recognised Bannister as he stood outside her home in December having pressed the entry intercom.
She said she feared he was going to scale the gate and called her personal security.
Bannister did not manage to get into the grounds of the mansion in Buckinghamshire.
In her statement to the CPS Tweedy said:’ I feared for my safety and my child’s safety.
‘It causes me to panic. He is not allowed to be at my home.’
Bannister, of no fixed abode, had been jailed for four months last September and given a three-year restraining order and banned from entering the county of Buckinghamshire for stalking Tweedy.
But on December 10th – weeks after grief-stricken Tweedy attended Payne’s funeral – he showed up at the home she shares with her seven-year-old son Bear.
He admitted to three offences – two of harassment and a breach of restraining order – and was remanded in custody at an earlier hearing.
Bannister was due to be sentenced in January, but the case was adjourned by the judge for medical reports.
His solicitor Colin Mackerell told the court a psychiatrist said he was not suffering from any mental illness.
Bannister has been in custody for over three months at Bullingdon prison in Oxfordshire.
In 2012 he had been jailed for manslaughter for killing his neighbour Rajendra Patel at a YMCA hostel in Croydon where they both lived.
The court heard both men suffered from mental health problems, with Mr Patel diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
The pair had a history of conflict after moving into adjacent rooms at the hostel for the homeless and vulnerable.
Bannister brutally punched and kicked Patel as he was walking towards a lift, breaking his ankle and nose and causing swelling to his face.
Patel died 15 days later after the assault from a pulmonary thromboembolism.
Jailing him, Judge Nicholas Price told Bannister he had not intended to cause serious injury or death but the assault was sustained.
He said he was not a danger to the public, but had no choice but impose a prison sentence.
Tweedy stepped up her personal security in March 2023 while appearing on the West End stage.
Her nightly appearance in 2.22 Ghost Story was ruined by ‘disgusting’. notes being left with flowers at the London theatre.
Tweedy had led mourners at former One Direction star Payne’s funeral in November in Amersham, Buckinghamshire.
He died after plunging from a balcony at his hotel in Buenos Aries, Argentina following a drink and drug binge.
Cole, who was in a high-profile relationship with Payne between 2016 and 2018, said in a statement on Instagram that their son has to ‘face the reality of never seeing his father again’.
Sharing a black and white picture of Payne in bed with his son, she said: ‘As I try to navigate this earth shattering event, and work through my own grief at this indescribably painful time, I’d like to kindly remind everyone that we have lost a human being.
‘Liam was not only a pop star and celebrity, he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend and a father to our seven-year-old son. A son that now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again.’
Kathleen O’Callaghan of the Crown Prosecution Service said: ‘The unwanted attention of offenders like Daniel Bannister can leave victims feeling alarmed and fearful.
‘Bannister plainly disregarded a previous restraining order, and the Crown Prosecution Service argued these deliberate breaches were made more serious by the fact that they were committed so shortly after the order was made.
‘As a result, Bannister now faces a longer prison term with an indefinite restraining order placed on him.’
Prosecutor Datta Ryan had said Tweedy felt ‘violated’ by his repeated attempts to contact her.