A VALLEYS woman was yesterday jailed for eight months for harassing a Freddie Mercury impersonator.

Marie Anne Lewis, 27, previously admitted harassing William Westmoreland and his wife Susan, who live in the Scottish borders, and Lorna Lidderdale, who ran the nearby Howe of Fife Rugby Club.

Cardiff Crown Court heard Lewis found Mr Westmoreland, whose stage name is Billy West, on the internet and started two years of abuse because she was jealous of his “glamorous lifestyle.”

David Pinnell prosecuting told the court Lewis, of Valley View Road, Cwmtillery, began making abusive phone calls to Mr Westmoreland in 2007 and told his wife he was being unfaithful with women all over the UK.

Mr Pinnell said she sent the couple abusive letters and in September 2008 sent the skin of a tarantula with a note saying “I hope this scares you.”

In October 2008, Lewis tried to assault Mr Westmoreland while he performed in Swansea, but was thrown out by security.

In November 2008, she went to Cwmbran where he was switching on the Christmas lights and tried to apologise to him. Mr Westmoreland reported the matter to the police and Lewis was arrested in October 2009.

She told police that she had had a difficult life, the court heard she had a partner who had died and having dealt with mental illness in her family, and started the abuse because she was jealous of the successful tribute artist’s lifestyle.

She also admitted harassing Miss Lidderdale, who ran the Howe of Fife Rugby Club, by repeatedly phoning and asking for Mr Westmoreland.

Jeff Jones, representing Lewis, described Lewis’s actions as “extraordinary, bizarre and irrational” and said the majority were carried out under the influence of alcohol.

He said Lewis was remorseful of her actions and although there was no violence, she acknowledged her actions were “cruel, relentless and vile.”

Judge David Wynne Morgan sentenced Lewis to eight months for the harassment of Mr and Mrs Westmoreland and four months for the harassment of Miss Lidderdale, to run concurrently.

Lewis was also made the subject of a restraining order prohibiting her from contacting her victims.