North East stalking victims left in 'constant fear'
Latest figures say just over a quarter of stalking is actually reported to police.
A North East stalking victim has told Metro how she felt she was under 'constant surviellance' when being harrassed by a former partner.
We're calling her Paula, and she described how she received up to 20 abusive text messages a day and was left fearing where her stalker would appear next.
She said: "I got so stressed out I couldn't really function properly or look after the kids, look after the house, go to work and it was all because of the pressure of not knowing what he would do next.
"I felt as though there was no guarentee that I would ever have any freedom from the feeling of being harrassed.
"He's pushed me, kept the children in the house and won't let them out.
"Part of me is really scared of him, I don't know what lengths he's willing to go to."
Claire Cowell is a domestic abuse outreach worker at Newcastle Women's Aid and says she HAS seen a rise in women asking for help.
She says: "It does have a massive impact. It hits their mental health as well.
"Consider for them, they're thinking am I imagining this? Is this really what's going on?"
"A lot of people feel they've not got enough information to report it to the police and they feel quite paranoid about what's going on."
Well as part of National Stalking Awareness Week victims are being urged not to suffer in silence and come forward to report the harrassment.
If you think you might be being stalked then call the National Stalking Helpline on 0808 802 0300.
There's more information on where you can get help in our region here: