Kendal man jailed after making chilling threats to burn down ex’s home

A Kendal man who threatened to burn down his ex-partner’s home during months of harassment after their break-up has been jailed.

Warren Lee Chorley, 36, and the woman had been in a relationship for 18 months. She considered this to be at an end after he spent time in custody for assaulting her.

But between May and November 2021, Chorley repeatedly harassed her, initially taking unwanted gifts and flowers to the Kendal bookmakers where she worked. Colleagues reported him turning up drunk, shouting abuse, and on one occasion a manager had to lock a door to prevent him re-entering after he was asked to leave.

Workmates would wait while a taxi arrived to collect the woman after the end of shifts, with Chorley having vowed to tail her home. On a night out, he followed her from pub to pub, tipping a pint over her head and throwing the glass at her.

“It got to the stage where she felt under siege,” prosecutor Brendan Burke told Carlisle Crown Court. One text sent by Chorley read: “No matter where you go, I will find you.”

Although they moved house, the woman and her two children were left “terrified” after he warned: “I see a petrol bomb.”

Chorley sent videos showing him near her property, and was heard to say: “I will kill you.” He’d also said: “I will go and get some petrol and pour it through your letterbox and set it alight.”

The woman described not sleeping after the “petrol bomb” warning and of wanting to leave Kendal.

Chorley, of the town’s Grasmere Crescent, was originally charged with stalking but ultimately admitted a charge of harassment. His previous offences included crimes committed against the same woman and harassment of a different partner.

Recorder Paul Hodgkinson jailed Chorley for 16 months and imposed a restraining order which prevents him from contacting the victim of his 2021 offending indefinitely.