Face of Sheffield man who terrorised his mother for drug money days after restraining order was put in place

A Sheffield man terrorised his mother for drug money just days after a restraining order was put in place to ‘protect’ her from his campaign of harassment. 

During a Sheffield Magistrates’ Court hearing held on January 19, 2024, defendant, Daniel Webster, was made the subject of a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting his mother - the complainant - through any means. 

Matthew Burdon, prosecuting, told Sheffield Crown Court that the order was made for the complainant’s ‘protection,’ after Webster was convicted of offences including malicious communication and common assault committed against his mum. 

Just 20 days later, on February 8, 2024, Webster breached the restraining order.

Mr Burdon told a hearing held on May 28, 2024: “He contacted her 30 times, and told her he wanted £50. She refused to oblige and he attended at her address, banged on her glass panels. 

“She contacted her daughter and requested that the police be contacted. Police officers attended at about 12.30pm…the defendant was arrested for breaching his restraining order.” 

Following a police interview, during which Webster answered ‘no comment’ to all questions, he was released on bail, the court heard. 

Webster, aged 36, committed another breach of the restraining order nine days later, when, on the evening of February 17, 2024, he attended at his mother’s address again. 

“Police received a misdirected 999 call from the victim’s other son, because the defendant had again turned up at her address. He was not present when officers arrived, and she told them that earlier that day he had asked other family members for £35, which he was given. She told them he has a drug habit, which had become worse over the last month,” Mr Burdon said. 

The court heard how Webster returned to his mother’s address at around 8.10pm and ‘let himself in,’ and began ‘shouting’ and ‘demanding money’ once again. 

“He was shouting so loudly that the neighbours began banging on the wall…he was demanding money for about 30 minutes,” Mr Burdon said, adding that he also threatened to hit the complainant. 

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During the course of that day, Webster called his mother a total of 82 times. 

Webster was subsequently arrested and taken into custody. 

In a statement to the court, the complainant said Webster’s offending was ‘stressing her out,’ because she was having to phone the police so often and explain the situation to someone new on each occasion. 

She continued by saying she hoped Webster would be ‘given the help he needs’ and that she would not ‘have to put up with this’ anymore. 

Webster, of Ochre Dike Close, Waterthorpe, Sheffield, was subsequently charged with, and pleaded guilty to, offences of harassment and harassment - breach of a restraining order, at an earlier hearing. 

Mr Burdon told the court that Webster has a criminal record, spanning 54 offences from 26 previous court appearances, several of which relate to ‘offences of dishonesty’. 

Defending, Edward Moss said Webster knows, through him, that ‘this can only be a custodial sentence’. 

He continued by saying that Webster knows that if he continues with such offending, the sentences passed down will just ‘get longer and longer’. 

Mr Moss acknowledged that Webster has refused help and support for his mental health issues, but said he has ‘taken steps to make contact with those responsible for administering his injections,’ seemingly referring to the management of Webster’s drug problem. 

Judge Graham Reeds jailed Webster for two years and told him that ‘punishment is required to stop you from acting in this way again’.

He said he regarded Webster’s harassment of his mother, and the breaches of the restraining order to protect her from him, to be ‘persistent’.

“You could not have cared less that there was a restraining order in place…the victim statement from your mother proves significant harm has been caused to her by you, by what you did.”

“You have a serious drug problem, you have mental health problems, which relate to drug abuse…you see your mother as a source of money to buy drugs. You don’t stop until you get what you want,” Judge Reeds added. 

Webster was made the subject of another restraining order, which prohibits him from contacting his mother for a period of two years.