“I lost a year of my life when the stalker moved to the UK”

A former Miss England who said her stalker moved from India to the UK to be closer to her has voiced her support for new government proposals.

Stephanie Hill, from Derbyshire, said she lost a year of her life when she was sent hundreds of messages by Dhawal Chaudhary over 11 months from May 2020.

Chaudhary, now 29, was arrested and later sentenced to a hospital order at Derby Crown Court in May 2022 after admitting stalking and harassment.

This week, proposed “right to know” statutory guidance was announced, which the government said would inform tracked victims of the identity of their abuser as soon as possible.

Ms Hill, who was crowned Miss England 2017, said that although she knew the identity of her stalker, she welcomed the news, describing it as “the start of many changes”.

Speaking about her experience, the 29-year-old said the BBC that as Miss England she was required to have social media profiles to promote the work she was doing.

“Unfortunately, this has a global reach and some of the work we were doing caught the attention of a gentleman internationally,” she said.

Ms Hill, who works in health, said what happened was “horrific” as the man began stalking her and her family.

“He decided to move from his home country to the UK to be closer.

“He tried to interfere in my career and put me out of my job.”

She would block him online, but he created about 50 new social media accounts to keep contacting her, she said.

She said “everything changed” when Chaudhary moved to the UK.

“Suddenly he could find us at any moment.”

He also tried to incite other people to act on his behalf, Ms Hill said.

“So that anonymous element really came into play because he could be talking to someone willing to intimidate on his behalf or willing to do any kind of harmful activity.

“You never knew who you were going to meet on the street,” she added.

“I lost a year of my life. I don’t remember much because of the trauma. You just survive.”

Ms Hill says the new proposal would give victims of stalking “more agency in the process”.

She added: “For people dealing with anonymous stalkers, the whole point of stalking is that they feel entitled to that person’s time, to their life, to a relationship with them.

“There the victim feels incredibly helpless.

“If that victim is allowed to know who they are as soon as possible, it gives them a little more freedom in the process and puts a face to the name and takes some of that power away from the stalker.”

Chaudhary, of no fixed abode, was given a hospital order “until further notice” as well as restraining and restraining orders.

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