The former Miss England says she’s a “shell of a person” after nine months of stalking.

Stephanie Hill and her partner Daniel Harper had never met Dhawal Chaudhary but believed he fell in love with her when she went to India in 2018

A hospital order has been handed to a stalker who message-bombed a former Miss England for nine months at Derby Crown Court.

Dhawal Chaudhary, who has no fixed address, appeared via video link from low security Wells Road Center in Nottingham.

The court heard Chaudhary was arrested at Heathrow Airport in July 2021 after returning to the UK on a flight from India.

He had bombarded Stephanie Hill, from Derbyshire, and her partner with a large number of messages via social media between October 2020 and June 2021.

Addressing the court, which was attended by members of Chaudhary’s family from virtually India, prosecutor Sarah Slater said months of abusive messages had reduced Miss Hill to a “casing of her former self”.

Miss Slater added that Stephanie Hill and her partner Daniel Harper had never met Chaudhary and that Miss Hill believed he was in love with her when she went to India in 2018.

The court heard she was in the country doing work for her social media channels.

Miss Slater said: “The first contact she had with him was when she returned to the UK on October 12, 2020.

“She described how everything was normal when he first started contacting her, but then things developed and she started receiving strange messages from him because she didn’t reply quickly enough.”

Miss Slater said the messages contained explicit sexual content, in addition to pictures and charts, and included talk about having grandchildren.

He also said, “It’s not rape, it’s love.”

The court heard that when Miss Hill blocked Chaudhary’s account, she would simply create another one and continue to send her messages from the new account.

Miss Slater read a statement from Miss Hill: “It was relentless and took away all of her joy in her job and in helping people.”

Miss Hill tried to change her name and pretend she had left the company she worked for but that only worked for a few days when Chaudhary told her he was going to the UK to study for an MBA and he if she found them, they would get an apartment together and live together.

Miss Slater said that over the course of the news, Chaudhary “set up 50 different accounts to message her, created fake pages on Instagram pretending to be other people and started tagging her in posts, which the only way to contact her is the end.”

Miss Slater said: “Mr Harper, her partner, received his first message on 29 December 2020 when Chaudhary created a group chat between the three telling them he was coming to the UK.”

Mr. Harper did not reply and Chaudhary then began bombarding him with messages.

Contact with Mr. Harper reached such a stage that Chaudhary started an Instagram page with the caption “We will kill Daniel Harper if he doesn’t stay away from Stephanie Hill”.

Miss Hill said she begged and begged Chaudhary to leave her alone, but the messages had changed and become more aggressive.

Chaudhary set up a page called ‘Justice for Sarah Everard’ and posted comments on the subject, but through that page other people joined to bully and harass Miss Hill.

Chaudhary sent Miss Hill messages saying she was a sex worker and that her partner, Mr Harper, was cheating on her. He also set up a Spotify playlist.

As a result, Miss Hill completely removed herself from all forms of social media and reported it to the police.

In a statement, Miss Hill said: “I don’t want anyone to live like I have for the past nine months, I’ve been reduced to a shell of a person.

“I don’t enjoy doing anything because I feel like I have to pay attention to my every move.

“I was a strong and confident person before, but I’ve never seen anyone treat me like that.”

Rebecca Coleman defended Chaudhary, who admitted to linking stalking to serious alarm or distress and put a person in fear of violence, and told the hearing that her client’s actions had left his family devastated and in shock.

She said, “The impact on Stephanie Hill and Daniel Harper is great, but the impact on his family members is pretty big too.”

Judge Shaun Smith sentenced him at Derby Crown Court, telling Chaudhary he believed his crimes were due to his mental illness.

dr Younis Saleem said he thinks the condition is either erotomania or schizophrenia.

Judge Smith granted the 27-year-old an indefinite restraining order to stay away from Stephanie Hill, Daniel Harper and Elaine Hill.

He also issued a hospital order for Chaudhary to remain at Wells Road Center in Nottingham until he is deemed released.

Judge Smith also issued a restraining order, adding that Chaudhary was a “danger to the public”.

Mr Abid Adam, one of Chaudhary’s friends, requested that he be deported to India for treatment where he could be surrounded by his family. This motion was referred to the Home Office by Judge Smith.