A woman who tried to intimidate her sister-in-law by almost mowing her down in a Tesco car park subjected her to a years-long ‘campaign of terror’, the victim claimed today.
Nicola Hewitson, 56, lay in wait outside the superstore in Poole, Dorset, before accelerating her £35,000 Mercedes B-class towards her brother’s wife, Michelle Jennings, when she emerged pushing a trolley.
Shocking footage showed Hewitson looking as if she was about to mow down Mrs Jennings before spinning around her and shouting: ‘I will f***ing kill you.’
Hewitson, from the wealthy coastal town of Canford Cliffs, was found guilty on Tuesday and given an 18-month conditional discharge – which she appealed today.
But now, in an exclusive interview with MailOnline, Mrs Jennings and her husband, Mark Hewitson, 55, ‘intimidate’ the defendant for years.
‘I just want a quiet life. I’ve never had to deal with anything like this in my life. Never before,” Mrs. Jennings explained.
Nicola Hewitson, 56, lay in wait outside the superstore in Poole, Dorset before speeding her £35,000 Mercedes B-class towards her brother’s wife, Michelle Jennings (right), when she emerged driving a trolley pushed
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
Mrs Jennings, 47, stood frozen on the spot before Hewitson hit the brakes just as she looked about to mow down her sister-in-law
Hewitson then spun around her and shouted through an open window: ‘I’ll fucking kill you’
“It was one thing for someone not like you, but when someone despises you so much that you’re dead, that’s just another level. And that was quite difficult to deal with. I don’t consider her my family, but it was really difficult.’
‘I just want her to stop. “I never did anything to her other than marrying her brother,” she added. ‘It makes no sense to me. It’s been an absolute nightmare for a few years now. We’ve tried to do our own thing, but it keeps coming back.”
Her husband, with whom she has been together 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 ruthless. Telling people in town what she’s going to do and things like that.
‘We thought this guilty verdict for intimidation and threatening would be it, but she’s just appealed, which means Michelle may have to testify again, which we don’t need.’
The family feud started just six months after Mr Hewitson began his relationship with Ms Jennings.
The pair, who live just two miles away from their ‘nightmare’ relative, claim they still don’t know what the true cause of the long-running feud was.
The family feud started just six months after Mr Hewitson (right) began his relationship with Ms Jennings (left)
After a family feud, Hewitson (above) had built a closer bond with the sibling’s father, who died earlier this year, and has since become ‘jealous’ of her brother’s successful business, a property developer.
Nicola Hewitson, 56, (pictured centre) lurked outside a Tesco supermarket before speeding the £35,000 B-class model off Michelle Jennings as she emerged from the store with a trolley full of groceries.
After a family feud, Hewitson had built a closer bond with the sibling’s father, who died earlier this year and has since become “jealous” of her brother’s successful business, a property developer.”
‘I can’t think of a situation where she suddenly thought that I don’t like you anymore. It was gradual, she just didn’t like me,” said Ms Jennings, who provides prosthetics to women with breast cancer.
“She’s a criminal, I’m not, and I don’t think she liked me being a goody-two-shoes or being 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,” Mr Hewitson added. ‘I started doing my own thing and my business is now fine and I think Nicola is very bitter and jealous about that.
“It’s just now manifested. We go somewhere and we see them, Nicola is very verbally abusive. We tried to get a restraining order, but the court denied it.
‘So we are now back in the same position. Friends of ours used to go to a pub for lunch every Sunday, but now we can’t go there when she’s there. She just started a hate campaign against Shelly for no reason. It is a campaign of terror.”
Over the years, the couple alleged that Hewitson made a series of threats over the years.
On one occasion, they said she was drunk in a bar and told mutual friends she was going to “kill” Mrs. Jennings, claiming she was “prepared to go to prison for six years” for the crime.
On the other hand, they say Hewitson posted their new home address all over social media.
Video footage shown in court showed the moment Hewitson drove towards Ms Jennings on January 19 this year.
Ms Jennings gave Hewitson, who was driving with her cancer-stricken father in the passenger seat, the middle finger. The incident was captured on CCTV footage from the Branksome Tesco branch and played in court.
On one occasion they said she was drunk in a bar and told mutual friends she was going to ‘kill’ Mrs Jennings (left), claiming she was ‘prepared to go to jail for six years’ for the crime .
The victim added today: ‘The weirdest thing was I knew she was going to do it. When I looked to my right as I was crossing the road to get my car, I saw her license plate in the curb and I thought, oh my God, I know what she’s going to do.
‘I walked like a snail, so slowly, because I knew what she was going to do. And as I started walking, I heard her gas pedal and I froze. “I gave it the middle finger, but when I got to my car I 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 directly into the direction of traffic and saw the defendant’s vehicle, which had driven away and was heading toward her.
‘Miss Hewitson drove towards Miss Jennings and as she approached her she slammed on the brakes and swerved around her.
‘She shouted out the window and said ‘I will kill you’ and called her fat. The victim raised her middle finger at her in response. Later, the defendant messaged Miss Jennings regarding the incident.”
Ms Dillon read Ms Jennings’ victim impact statement. She claimed she had been subjected to a ‘reign of terror’ by Hewitson.
She said, “Even shopping is a chore for me now. I now avoid local gatherings because of the verbal abuse thrown my way. It has reached an unprecedented level. It’s a reign of terror.’
Julian Hardy, defending, said: ‘Mrs Hewitson is disappointed that the court has not ruled in her favour. She adhered to the rules throughout the entire procedure.
‘Her father died of cancer in March this year and she was previously estranged from her mother and brother.
‘Mrs Hewitson leads a stable lifestyle and has held a position as a property manager for 20 years and this is a high-trust role.
“Rest assured there will be no further problems.”
Hewitson was sentenced to an 18-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £600 in costs and fines.
She has since appealed the case.
Speaking after the case, Mrs Jennings said: ‘I’m glad it’s over and I hope she leaves me and my family alone. We just don’t want anything to do with her. Mark and I are both devastated that she has not been granted a restraining order.”