Thug waged grudge war on solicitor

A SOLICITOR received threatening letters and telephone calls and had his car and home vandalised during a two-year hate campaign by a man with a mystery grudge.

Richard Thornton, a partner with Leamington firm Blythe Liggins, received a stream of hate mail. The persecutor also daubed Thornton's house in Warwick and his car with anti-semitic slogans - even though the lawyer is not Jewish.

Last week, police at Leamington cautioned 27-year-old Christopher Jeremy Thomas of Wolverhampton. Warwickshire police did not reveal the motive but he was not one of Thornton's clients.

A police spokeswoman said: "It was a grudge attack. They weren't death threats. They were all nuisance phone calls of a nasty and malicious nature. We don't believe the man presents a further risk."

She said the most recent incident was the graffiti attack in June. Thomas had been caught on a security camera holding a can of spray paint.

The image was shown on the BBC's Crimewatch last Tuesday, and a number of viewers called police identifying the man. Thomas was arrested on Thursday and cautioned at Leamington police station.