Daniel Bannister has been jailed for stalking Girls Aloud star Cheryl Tweedy after breaching his restraining order and entering the town she calls home despite police warnings
A killer who has been jailed for stalking Cheryl Tweedy appears to have an obsession with other female stars.
Daniel Bannister, 50, repeatedly turned up at the home of Girls Aloud singer Cheryl, who was left terrified over him “displaying fixated, obsessive, unwanted and repetitive behaviour” towards her. Bannister, who was previously convicted of killing a man at a homeless hostel, caused Cheryl “serious alarm.”
He has now been jailed at Wycombe Magistrates’ Court for 16 weeks for breaching a restraining order. The 50-year-old, of no fixed address, was previously jailed in September for four months for an offence he had committed in July. He was also given a three-year restraining order, prohibiting him contacting Cheryl, entering Buckinghamshire or attending her address.
However, in December, court documents revealed that he had returned to the home she shares with her young son, Bear, just weeks after his dad Liam Payne’s funeral. He was charged with breaching his restraining order having entered Buckinghamshire on December 10.
Bannister’s social media account has shown he follows other famous women including Emily Maitlis, Rachel Riley and Kirsty Gallacher. On Facebook, the stalker is friends with a number of accounts that appear to pretend to be female stars. Of his 86 friends, there are accounts claiming to be Susanna Reid, Mila Kunis, Mary Kate Olson, Meghan Markle and Sophie Raworth. He also follows Zoe Kravitz and Renee Zellweger accounts.
Today, Bannister, who had been remanded in custody, was jailed. He had previously attempted to contact Cheryl, either directly or indirectly which he had previously been banned from doing so. He pleaded guilty to three separate offences in December and was jailed until his hearing today. While Cheryl was performing in the West End production of 2:22 A Ghost Story, her team around her were said to be on “red alert” after she was sent disturbing messages with flowers from outside the theatre.
Last year, he reportedly turned up at “an address where you knew or believed Cheryl Tweedy was present,” which constitutes another breach of his order. Bannister was charged with harassment – breach of restraining order on conviction, harassment – breach of restraining order on conviction and attempt to breach a restraining order after conviction.
He was already the subject of a restraining order when he rang the video intercom outside the Buckinghamshire mansion she shares with her seven-year-old son, Bear. Having turned up at the property and used the intercom in January 2024, he claimed he had “come to get Cheryl”, the court was told. In July of the same year he again called at the house and said: “I’m really thirsty, I just want a glass of wine please”. Tweedy told police she “immediately panicked” when she spotted Bannister outside her home again last year.
Bannister pleaded guilty in 2012 to manslaughter at Kingston Crown Court after assaulting Rajendra Patel, at a south London YMCA homeless shelter. After an attack in February of the same year, Mr Patel returned to hospital on March 9. He tragically died just one day later. His cause of death was ruled as a fracture to his left ankle, pulmonary thromboembolism and deep vein thrombosis of the left thermeral vein.
Bannister, who at the time was 37, had been due to go on trial for the murder of Mr Patel – but the CPS lowered the charge to manslaughter. It’s believed that the two individuals who had been living at the homeless shelter had been in a long-term feud with one another when the attack took place. CCTV footage was shown, of Bannister kicking and punching his victim as he attempted to go towards a lift.
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