The 19-year-old student is “glad” the Stalker driving instructor isn’t behind bars as “he needs help”.

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Maisie Relph said her former driving instructor needed help, not jail, despite his obsessive stalking online, leaving her “petrified” after he created a fake account

A driving instructor who stalked one of his students paid hackers hundreds of pounds to try to access her social media accounts.

Even when Maisie Relph, 19, dropped out of class and moved 200 miles to attend university, obsessed Graham Mansie created a fake Instagram account to befriend her.

Maisie told how she was “petrified” after Mansie, 52, broke bail conditions to try to keep an eye on her.

Mansie was sentenced this month to a suspended sentence for stalking Maisie, a life ban from contacting her and rehab.

And brave Maisie says she’s glad he was helped and not punished.

She said: “I’m still scared – but he needs help not to be locked away.

“The life restraining order gives me security. If he went to jail, I would worry about when he would get out.

“Police have said he’ll go to jail for five years if he breaks the order, so I’m pretty confident he’ll comply.”

Mansie began teaching Maisie in Bromley, south-east London, in 2020 when she was 17.

On her 18th birthday, he asked her out for a drink and created a TikTok of driving tips called 4maisie, which featured a red heart with the words “My favourite.”

He even gave another student a gift bag of £65 restaurant vouchers to pass on to her.

His behavior made Maisie uncomfortable, so she blocked him on social media.

But when she moved to York for university, Mansie created an Instagram account pretending to be an 18-year-old student named Ben Williams.

He became friends with her and even joined a news group for her dorms.

When Mansie was arrested last November, he also admitted to paying people on the dark web hundreds of pounds to try to hack into Maisie’s social media accounts.

Police advised the teenager to cut his hair and change her appearance while Mansie was out on bail, but he still took to WhatsApp to say “you just killed me” – and then disappeared for two days.

Maisie had to face Mansie in court after he pleaded not guilty. He later changed his plea.

He was sentenced to eight weeks in prison, suspended for a year, undergoing 30-day rehab and seeking help from the Stalking Threat Assessment Center.

He was also banned from ever contacting Maisie and ordered to pay £300 in costs and a £128 victim’s surcharge.

Bromley Magistrates’ Court heard Mansie broke bail conditions twice to contact Maisie online.

Maisie, a psychology student, now wants other women to spot the signs of stalking.

She said: “I would have finished my class much sooner if I had read a story like this.

“He used to say, ‘Oh, I’ll put that on the file,’ and I always thought that was a joke … now I’m wondering if he had a file on me.

“The police still haven’t told me everything they found on his computer.

“The TikTok seemed kind of crazy. I was really uncomfortable. And he cried when I failed the first time. Things really didn’t feel right.”

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