A guest on This Morning opened up about how she thought that her landlord was the kindest man you could ever meet… but was frozen in fear when she found a trap he’d set out for her.
Heidi Marney appeared on the ITV show to chat to Ben Shephard, 50, and Cat Deeley, 48, the new upcoming Channel 5 documentary Peeping Tom: The Landlord And His Secret Camera.
The mum was left lost for words when she found out that her landlord, former local Councillor Robert Holden, had placed a camera in the bathroom after displaying behaviour like a ‘jealous boyfriend’.
Heidi moved in with Robert after breaking up with her ex boyfriend, and while everything was fine at the beginning, she started to notice things that made her feel uncomfortable.
She said: ‘I personally saw him as the kindest man you could ever meet, when I gave birth to my little girl he sent flowers to the house. He literally took flood victims into his house.
‘He was a town counselor, he was in the parish council. Everybody loved him for what he did in the community.’
A guest on This Morning opened up about how she thought that her landlord was the kindest man you could ever meet… but was frozen in fear when she found a trip he’d set out for her
Heidi Marney appeared on the ITV show to chat to Ben Shephard , 50, and Cat Deeley , 48, the new upcoming Channel 5 documentary Peeping Tom: The Landlord and His Secret Camera
Heidi moved in with Robert (pictured) after breaking up with her ex boyfriend, and while everything was fine at the beginning, she started to notice things that made her feel uncomfortable
But she started noticing red flags while staying with him, including telling her that she couldn’t afford a house, and projecting to the outside world that there was more to their relationship than met the eye.
Around a year in she decided to start dating again and once, despite her being on a road where there was no chance that he would drive past her, he knew where she was.
‘When I mentioned about dating, nearly a year off, he was funny about it. When I went on this date I didn’t tell him where I was going,’ she reocunted.
‘He texted me saying “Weird I could have sworn I just saw you in Leeds.”
‘I thought that there is physically no way, I’ve driven to an underground car park.
‘Immediately started to panic… How do you know where I am?’
She later found out that he’d linked her computer – which she bought off him – to her phone to track her.
Heidi confronted him and he denied it, so she went to a family member who works in the police and they said he was acting like a ‘jealous boyfriend’ and that she should check the house for cameras.
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Recalling how she reacted, Heidi said: ‘I just froze if I’m honest, in that moment, I thought, what happens now?
‘You are the town councilor.
‘Everybody loves and adores you, I love and adore you.
‘There must be an explanation.
‘How can I accuse you of this? I went full protection mode for him in that moment.
‘I can’t call the police, someone did on my behalf.’
Robert fled to Cape Verde but after returning to the UK he was convicted for six years for doing it to other women too.
Many rushed to the internet to share their shock at the story.
One wrote on YouTube: ‘That poor lady she is very brave to of done what she did bless her.’
‘Oh my Goodness! Not right!’
‘Absolutely disgusting.’
‘WHAT?! A camera in the bathroom?!’
This Morning airs weekdays from 6am on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.