A BROMSGROVE man with a history of harassment put his former lover through a frightening ordeal after she received a telephoned warning.

Georgia Taylor-Mason was left in fear for her safety after a friend called her to warn that her ex, Steven Faulkner, was on his way to her home with a knife.

She told Redditch Magistrates Court how she watched from an upstairs window as 44-year-old Faulkner scratched and carved an insult into her car's paint and smashed the windscreen with a brick.

Ms Taylor-Mason, who was in a relationship with Faulkner for eight years, said: "I phoned the police, they made me stay on the call, it felt like forever waiting for the police to turn up.

"I was upset and scared, I didn't know what his intentions were.

"I saw a knife his hand, a large knife, I saw him walk up to the passenger side of the car ducking down.

"I recognised him when he crossed the road."

The court heard that on January 12 Faulkner arrived at the scene at around 7.50pm.

He crouched down behind the Renault car, the women then watched as he stood up, walked around the car and scratched the side before smashing the window.

He then damaged a Ford Fiesta parked next to the Renault which belonged to a neighbour.

Ms Taylor-Mason's mother, Helen Taylor, was also in the house during the incident along with her daughter's three children.

She said: "I was scared, but not for me but for my daughter and her grandchildren."

Faulkner, who denied two charges of criminal damage relating to the incident, said he was in the nearby Duke of York pub in Sidemoor at the time and claimed Ms Taylor-Mason was trying to "get him into trouble".

However the court also heard police investigations led them to conclude Faulkner's alibi did not tally with what they had been told.

Unusually magistrates allowed a prosecution application for the defendant's past record to be revealed before they considered their verdict after attacks on the character of Ms Taylor-Mason during the hearing.

They were told Faulkner had two previous convictions for harassment dating back to 2010 and 2012.

Under cross examination he said the first conviction was for harassing another ex-partner and he could not remember the identity of the second victim.

After magistrates retired to consider their virdict, Faulkner was found guilty of two charges of criminal damage in relation to the cars and a further charge of criminal damage, which he also denied, of damaging the couple's former home.

The court heard the scrapyard worker, whose address was listed as Shenstone Close, was now living elsewhere after alleged threats against him which were being investigated by police.

He was released on bail and will be sentenced in April.