Man handed restraining order after stalking incident in East Yorkshire

A man from East Yorkshire has received a five-year restraining order after a woman used a SmartWater device to track him.

On Wednesday (2nd July), Neil Leddon was also disqualified from driving and handed a 16-month sentence suspended for two years after pleading guilty to stalking, harassing and taking photos of a woman without her consent in November last year.

The 54-year-old from Howden was charged with stalking after the woman deployed a canister of SmartWater provided by Humberside Police's Domestic Abuse and Investigation Team (DASIT) when Leddon breached his bail conditions and followed her down her street in his vehicle before purposefully colliding with her car.

Leddon pleaded guilty to stalking, careless driving and driving without insurance following his appearance at Hull Crown Court in April.

Leading the investigation was Detective Inspector Helen Collier from DASIT, who said:

“Leddon is a relentless stalker who took pictures of the woman without her consent and waited for her outside her address and workplace on multiple occasions with one ominous intention, to affect her daily life by continuously causing her fear and alarm.

“He was also seen multiple times on her CCTV walking past her address in a way to intimidate her by circling around somewhere she is supposed to feel safe and secure.

“The brave actions taken by the woman to deploy her SmartWater cannister is admirable. SmartWater is a fluid initially designed to mark property, using unique DNA codes, so it could be identified if stolen. This same technology is now being used to allow crime victims to mark their attackers because traces of the fluid cannot be washed off or seen with the naked eye.

“It offers victims an additional safeguarding measure to make them feel safer in their homes and whilst going about their business, and this is one of the reasons why we have managed to stack up the evidence against Leddon for him to decide to plead guilty for his actions.

“This approach is not new to policing, and it is being used in conjunction with ongoing support from specialist officers within our dedicated DASIT teams, as well as partners including the Domestic Abuse Partnership, who are co-located in our office at Clough Road.

“We know that this technology makes a real difference to victims of domestic abuse and stalking, helping them feel safer and more in control.

“Alongside our partners at the Domestic Abuse Partnership, we have been utilising SmartWater technology to deter perpetrators and protect victims of domestic abuse since it was introduced in cases of domestic abuse in June 2024.

Detective Inspector Helen Collier continued:

“I would like to commend the woman for her patience throughout the course of the investigation and judicial process. Domestic abuse comes with many complexities both from an investigation point of view and when engaging with victims who often do not recognise themselves as a victim. As a result, it often goes unreported, but it is really important for people to know that you can experience one or all of these signs of domestic abuse even just once, and it is not okay. There is never an excuse for domestic abuse of any kind.

“Each case of domestic abuse is unique and comes in many forms, affecting anybody, at any time. It is not discriminatory on age, sexual orientation, gender, background, or religion, and it isn’t just about sexual or physical abuse. It can include financial, coercive control or emotional abuse, digital or online, or honour-related abuse such as forced marriage or Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

“Stalking and harassment can amount to any behaviour which brings persistent and unwanted attention, whether in person or psychologically, including what is known as cyberstalking.

“I hope the result here at court today reassures our communities that we not only take reports of domestic abuse extremely seriously, but our main priority are the victims, giving them a voice and working with partners and other agencies to make them feel supported and safeguarded every step of the way. We also continue to take huge steps to reduce re-offending, deter perpetrators, and above all, keep victims safe.”

Officers are encouraging anyone who believes they have been a victim of, or has witnessed domestic abuse, in any form, to contact police as soon as soon as possible via the non-emergency number 101. Always call 999 in an emergency.

If you are in danger and cannot talk on the phone, call 999 and listen to the questions from the operator, and if you can, cough or tap on the handset to reply. You can also press 55 on your handset to make yourself heard and this will transfer your call directly to the police.

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