A 65-year-old married man stalked a stranger for almost three years.
George Mackay, of The Cottage, Barbaraville, near Invergordon, admitted stalking the woman between August 29, 2012 and September 18, 2015 in Dingwall and Balintore.
Fiscal depute Michelle Molley told Inverness Sheriff Court that his victim Donna Sutherland was a seasonal chef and Mackay encountered her when she worked in an Invergordon hotel.
Ms Molley said: “He was a patron there but she does not know who he is, had never spoken to him and says there was no relationship.
“When she got a job at the National Hotel in Dingwall he managed to obtain her phone number without her knowledge and repeatedly called her.
“The calls were mostly ignored and he would leave messages for her, requesting that he met her for a coffee.
“On one occasion when she left her work at the National Hotel, he was in his pick-up in the car park and followed her in her car.
“She drove round the one way system before stopping in a busy car park and telling him to leave her alone.
“The phone calls persisted and went unanswered, with more messages left.”
Ms Molley said Miss Sutherland then found work in the Balintore Inn and on September 18 last year she discovered Mackay following her home again.
The fiscal depute said: “She sped up to try and lose him before he would find her home address.
“She got home but then saw his pick-up driving up and down the road for about half an hour.
“She got another three calls from him and messages were left. One wanted her to let him in for a coffee but another heard him shouting ‘answer the damn phone’.
“She then phoned the police as she felt matters had escalated out of her control. Miss Sutherland says she is in a long-term relationship, and can’t explain his conduct.”
Mackay’s agent, solicitor Neil Wilson, said: “He is married and his wife is in court and is standing by him.”
Sheriff Margaret Neilson deferred sentence until April 7 for background reports.
