Female stalker barred from shows of comedian born and raised near Milton Keynes after years of 'distressing' harassment

A woman who spent years harassing famous comedian Al 'Pub Landlord' Murray with parcels, unsettling Facebook posts and attempts to get backstage at his shows has been ordered to leave him in peace.

Lucy Bird, of Collins Hill, Flore, Northamptonshire, caused such distress for Mr Murray - who was born and raised in the village of Stewkley near Milton Keynes - that a picture of her had to be circulated at any venue he played so staff could send her away.

But Northampton Magistrates Court heard on April 23 how ‘the Guvnor’ was not the only target of Bird’s harassment.

A string of other innocent people were also victim to the 46-year-old’s online harassment, where she used social media to maliciously accuse others of being paedophiles and sex criminals in lengthy livestream videos.

One man was subject to months of abuse and accusations merely because he replied to an online advert to offer her a free wallpaper stripper. Subsequent videos by Bird featured images of the man’s children and maliciously called him a rapist.

She also filmed the man when he was at a supermarket and said in front of other members of the public “oh look, here’s the paedophile”.

The businessman told the court Bird had caused him to lose tens of thousands of pounds of business because of the accusations.

“This woman has ruined my life,” the victim told the court. “She has called me a rapist, a paedophile and a murderer. She has continued to post videos of me and my family. I just want her to leave me alone and stop posting untrue statements about me.”

The court heard how the Stewkley comedian Mr Murray was subjected to years of bizarre letters and parcels containing hair grips, baked goods, condoms and religious passages.

In another incident, Bird posted an image of one of Mr Murray’s children when they were a toddler.

In a statement read out in court by prosecuting solicitor Stella Moses, Mr Murray said: “This was very concerning for me as she had previously stated she knew where I lived.

“I always felt pestering my family was one thing but targeting my family was completely wrong.

“The wife of a business partner of mine received a Christmas card with the words ‘I know who you are.’

“This contact is causing me distress… The actions Bird has taken have wrecked my experience with social media. I am active on both Facebook and Twitter and this is a vital outlet for me that enables me to connect with fans. But I feel a lot less comfortable using it for feeling like she is going to be there.”

Another victim was a police officer, who Bird alluded in a social media post had told her another individual was a rapist. The officer denied this and was greatly distressed by the accusation, fearing it would lead to an internal investigation against her. Another was a member of staff at a hospital, who she repeatedly accused of being a rapist.

Bird later pleaded guilty to three counts of harassment and one count of stalking. In a police interview, she only admitted to sending three parcels to Mr Murray.

The 46-year-old was spared immediate prison by the magistrates, and instead was handed a 16 week jail term suspended for two years.

She also was handed restraining orders against her four victims, which includes orders not to attend any of Al Murray’s shows or to contact him for four years.