A woman who tried to intimidate her sister-in-law by almost running her over in a Tesco car park subjected her to a “campaign of terror” that lasted several years, the victim claimed today.
Nicola Hewitson, 56, waited outside the hypermarket in Poole, Dorset, before accelerating her £35,000 Mercedes B-class towards her brother’s wife, Michelle Jennings, as she exited pushing a trolley.
Shocking footage showed Hewitson looking as if he was about to tackle Ms Jennings before she surrounded her and shouted: “I’ll kill you.”
Hewitson, from the wealthy seaside town of Canford Cliffs, was found guilty on Tuesday and given an 18-month probation, which she appealed today.
But now, in an exclusive interview with MailOnline, Mrs Jennings and her husband of 18 months, Mark Hewitson, 55, “bullied” the defendant for years.
‘I just want a quiet life. I have never, ever had to deal with anything like this in my life. Never before,” Mrs. Jennings explained.
Nicola Hewitson, 56, waited outside the hypermarket in Poole, Dorset, before accelerating her £35,000 Mercedes B class towards her brother’s wife, Michelle Jennings (right), as she left pushing a trolley.
Hewitson (above), from the wealthy seaside town of Canford Cliffs, was found guilty on Tuesday and given an 18-month conditional discharge, which she appealed today.
Ms Jennings, 47, froze on the spot before Hewitson slammed on the brakes just as it looked like he was about to hit her sister-in-law.
Hewitson then surrounded her and shouted through an open window: “I will kill you.”
‘It was one thing to have someone not like you, but to have someone hate you to the point that you were dead is another level. And that has been quite difficult to face. “I don’t consider her my family, but it’s been really complicated.”
‘I just want her to stop. “I’ve never done anything to him other than marrying his brother,” she added. ‘It doesn’t make sense to me. It’s been an absolute nightmare for a few years. We’ve tried to do our thing but it keeps coming back.’
Her husband, who she has been with for seven years and shares a three-year-old daughter, added: “It’s been going on for years and years and years.
‘I don’t understand it all, but unfortunately she is just relentless. Telling the people of the city what he’s going to do and things like that.
“We thought this guilty verdict for harassment and threats would be enough, but she has just appealed, which means Michelle might have to be a witness again, which is not necessary.”
The family dispute began just six months after Hewitson began her relationship with Jennings.
The couple, who live just two miles away from their ‘nightmare’ relative, claim they still don’t know what the real cause of the long argument was.
The family dispute began just six months after Hewitson (right) began her relationship with Jennings (left).
Following a family dispute, Hewitson (above) had formed a closer relationship with her brother’s father, who died earlier this year, and has since become “jealous” of her brother’s successful property developer business.
Nicola Hewitson, 56 (pictured centre), waited outside a Tesco supermarket before speeding up Michelle Jennings’ £35,000 B-class model as she left the store pushing a trolley full of groceries.
Following a family dispute, Hewitson had formed a closer relationship with her brother’s father, who died earlier this year, and has since become “jealous” of her brother’s successful property developer business.
‘I can’t identify a situation where he suddenly thought I don’t like him anymore. It was gradual, he just didn’t like it,” said Mrs Jennings, who works providing prostheses for women who have breast cancer.
“She’s a criminal, I’m not, and I don’t think she liked that I was a ‘goody two shoes’ or that I was in her circle.” I’m just different from her and I don’t think she likes it.
“The further we got into our relationship, the angrier she became,” Hewitson added. “I went on to do my own thing and my company is doing well now and I think Nicola is very bitter and jealous about that.
‘Now it has just manifested itself. We go somewhere and see them, Nicola is very verbally abusive. We tried to get a restraining order but the court rejected it.
«Now we are in the same situation again. Our friends used to go to a pub every Sunday for lunch, but now we can’t go there if she is there. You just launched this hate campaign against Shelly for no reason. “It is a campaign of terror.”
Over the years, the couple claimed that Hewitson had made a series of threats over the years.
On one occasion, they said she was drunk in a bar and telling mutual friends that she was going to “kill” Ms. Jennings, claiming she was “prepared to go to jail for six years” for the crime.
In another, they say Hewitson posted his new home address all over social media.
Video footage shown in court showed the moment Hewitson drove towards Mrs Jennings on January 19 this year.
Mrs. Jennings gave the middle finger to Hewitson, who was driving with her cancer-stricken father in the passenger seat. The incident was captured on CCTV from the Branksome Tesco branch and played in court.
On one occasion, she was said to have been drunk in a bar and told mutual friends that she was going to “kill” Ms Jennings (left), claiming she was “prepared to go to jail for six years” for the crime. .
The victim added today: ‘The strangest thing was that I knew she was going to do it. When I looked to the right as I crossed the street to get my car, I saw his license plate on the ring road and thought, Oh my God, I know what he’s going to do.
‘I walked like a snail, very slowly, because I knew what she was going to do. And when I started walking, I heard his accelerator and I froze. I gave the middle finger up but then I got to my car and broke down.’
Leah Dillon, prosecuting, told magistrates in Poole: ‘Miss Hewitson was unhappy that Miss Jennings had married the defendant’s brother.
‘There was some planning because the car was parked outside. Miss Jennings looked towards the traffic and saw the defendant’s vehicle, which had pulled away and was coming towards her.
‘Miss Hewitson drove towards Miss Jennings and then, as she approached her, hit the brakes and swerved around her.
“She was screaming out the window and said, ‘I’ll kill you’ and called her fat. The victim gave her the middle finger in response. The defendant later messaged Miss Jennings about the incident.
Ms Dillon read Ms Jennings’ victim impact statement. She claimed that Hewitson had subjected her to a “reign of terror.”
She said: ‘Now even shopping is a daunting task for me. I now avoid local meetings because of the verbal abuse they throw my way. It has reached unprecedented levels. “It is a reign of terror.”
Julian Hardy, defending, said: “Miss Hewitson is disappointed that the court did not rule in her favour.” She has been obedient throughout the entire process.
‘Her father died in March this year from cancer and she had previously been separated from her mother and brother.
‘Miss Hewitson leads a stable lifestyle and has held a position as a property manager for 20 years, a position that commands a high level of trust.
“You can rest assured that there will be no more problems.”
Hewitson was sentenced to 18 months’ probation and ordered to pay £600 in costs and fines.
He has since appealed the case.
Speaking after the case, Mrs Jennings said: “I’m glad it’s all over and I hope it leaves me and my family alone.” We just don’t want anything to do with her. Mark and I are really devastated that he wasn’t given a restraining order.