Salisbury councillor Mark Mewse avoids prison after harassing ex

Mark Mewse, of Crane Bridge Road, was sentenced to 12 weeks imprisonment which will be suspended for two years if he doesn't commit any further offences.

The 64-year-old began a "constant barrage" of messages to Sarah Houchin in an attempt to rekindle their relationship after they broke up in 2022.

Over the span of 10 months, Mewse made repeated unwanted face to face contact with Miss Houchin, left her gifts and visited her place of work at Salisbury Reds.

Mewse, a former Salisbury City Councillor, would appear at bus stops, blow kisses and wave to Miss Houchin while she drove around town.

Read more: ​Mark Mewse resigns from Salisbury City Council after conviction

On January 14, 2023, Mewse approached Miss Houchin at Blue Boar Row as she was getting off her final bus for the day.

She said: "He was there, comes towards me and I turned and said 'please, if you don't leave me alone I will go to the police'.

"He said 'if you go to the police I will kill your cats' and jabbed his finger in my face."

Upon hearing this threat, a "shaken and upset" Miss Houchin ran to the Red's control room in Castle Street while Mewse "chased" behind her.

In an impact statement read to Salisbury Magistrates' Court on Thursday, April 25, Miss Houchin said: “I would like to add this unwanted harassment has affected me so much. He frequently waits at bus stops.

"Mewse continues to harass me making comments and waving as I’m driving my bus. He shows no regard for the bail conditions it worries me. I just want this man to leave me alone completely and allow me to get on with my life.”

No breaches of bail were put before the court and Mewse accepts seeing Miss Houchin once but said he crossed the road to avoid her.

Sarah Houchin, the victim, said she just wants Mewse to leave her alone so she can 'get on with her life'. (Image: Solent News)

Naomi Winsor, mitigating, said: “Mr Mewse is a 64-year-old who, on the face of it, was successful in life, holding a position of local councillor whose mental health unbeknownst to everyone else through this was falling to pieces."

Since his offending, Mewse had been attending therapy to unravel years of trauma after he was diagnosed with PTSD with a mixed anxiety and depressive disorder.

Miss Winsor said Mewse had been a victim of the Brighton hotel bombing in 1984 and lost friends to suicide and natural causes but, being “a kid of the 60s”, he was told to “get on with it, put his shoulders back and man up”.

These mental health struggles culminated in February 2023 when he broke down outside a pub as memories and “hidden scars” haunted him, becoming “a never-ending film reel in a loop all the time”.

Following his arrest, Mewse was unfit to be interviewed and had to be sectioned.

See more: ​Fiona Ryan released as court runs out of time to deal with bail breach

The court heard how Mewse had lost his paid employment, role as local councillor and on several occasions came close to losing his life by his own hands.

He had also been physically assaulted twice in Salisbury following media coverage of his conviction, Miss Winsor added.

“There is no suggestion he is a man prone to harassing his ex-girlfriends. The elephant in the room is the catastrophic breakdown of his mental health," she said.

Magistrate Mr Grillo said: “We have listened to the details and as you’re aware you were found guilty at trial. On this occasion we do believe it has passed the custody threshold, but we will suspend it.

“The reasons we believe it has passed the threshold was because it was persistent over 10 months. There was also a threat to kill the cats and you knew her bus routes so any chance encounters weren’t chance encounters.”

A two-year restraining order was imposed which prevents Mewse, a man of previous good character, from attending the Salisbury Reds depot, main office or Miss Houchin's home in Harnham.

He must also not contact Miss Houchin directly or indirectly and an order for £650 costs and a £154 surcharge was made.