Former BBC Radio Host Found Guilty Of Stalking Four Other Broadcasters; One Victim Calls Him “The Jimmy Savile Of Trolling”
A former local BBC radio host has been found guilty of stalking four people including television and radio broadcaster Jeremy Vine.
Alex Belfield, who now broadcasts on his own YouTube channel, was found guilty of four stalking charges at Nottingham Crown Court
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In his evidence, Vine called Belfield “the Jimmy Savile of trolling,” referring to the disgraced later BBC presenter who whose targeting of hundreds of victims of abuse during his long career came to light after his death.
Vine, who has a radio show on the BBC and a TV show on Channel 5 said that Belfield had waged a campaign of abuse against via social media and YouTube. He added: “I have in the past had a physical stalker who followed me. That is a picnic compared to this guy. It’s like an avalanche of hatred that you get hit by.”
BBC Radio Northampton presenter Bernie Keith told the court he was left feeling suicidal by what he called Belfield’s “tsunami of hate.”
Belfield’s contract with BBC Radio Leeds ended in 2011. He elected not to give evidence at his trial. He previously claimed he was the victim of a “witch-hunt” and “pile-on” by other broadcasters. He was granted bail and will be sentenced next month.
His YouTube channel is titled “The Voice of Reason” although he has been suspended from the platform on more than one occasion.
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