A judge has urged two families to draw a line in their feud after a woman narrowly avoided going to prison over harassment and stalking offences.

Ella MacDermid, 32, appeared at Burnley Crown Court charged with two counts of harassment in breach of a restraining order and one count of stalking.

MacDermid and her family were previously close to the victim’s family, the Robinsons, but after her mother’s death in 2016 a “campaign of harassment and intimidation” began according to prosecutor Tom Challinor.

In June 2017, MacDermid was made subject to an indefinite restraining order against the family following a conviction for possession of an offensive weapon, threatening behaviour, common assault, and criminal damage, which prohibited her from contacting members of the Robinson family.

She breached that order in September 2022 by shouting abuse at one of the family members, Jack Robinson, who was also the victim of the new offences.

On September 4 of last year, Mr Robinson was driving down a narrow street and had to stop to allow a car to pass which, by chance, was being driven by MacDermid.

As they passed each other slowly, Mr Robinson heard MacDermid say ‘I’m going to kill you’, which led him to drive to the next street and park up.

MacDermid swung her car around and followed him, and they met again in the other street.

MacDermid’s passenger got out of the vehicle and punched Mr Robinson’s car. He got out and sprinted away to a nearby park where he phoned his family for help.

The second incident happened 10 days later on September 14 when Mr Robinson arrived home from work.

The court heard that as he approached his house, MacDermid had been outside her own home and said to him ‘run rabbit run’ – a mocking reference to the previous incident.

MacDermid was arrested on October 31 last year and denied the offences, saying the allegations had been fabricated by Mr Robinson and that he had provoked her.

In a victim personal statement, Mr Robinson said whenever he goes out he is “constantly checking his back” and is on “full alert” in case MacDermid is around.

He also said he had added more security cameras to his home which he checks before he leaves the house and before he arrives home.

MacDermid, of Russell Terrace, Padiham, has 17 previous convictions for 26 offences.

Her barrister, Joseph Allman, said the offences were “highly spontaneous” which is “rather unusual for stalking offences.”

He also asked the judge to consider that MacDermid is the primary carer for her daughter and for her father who is suffering from ill health.

Judge Daniel Prowse’s sentencing remarks were disrupted midway through after a member of the public gallery interrupted proceedings, leading to them being evicted from the courtroom.

Following a short adjournment, he said: “There has been significant distress caused to the wider family.

"The sad reality of the situation is that there are, in the middle of this, young people, and a line has got to be drawn by everybody in this case so people can move on.”

MacDermid was sentenced to 14 months in prison suspended for 20 months. She must complete 30 rehabilitation activity days and 150 hours of unpaid work.

The Judge said her caring responsibilities “and that alone” caused him to suspend the sentence, and any breaches will be reserved to him.