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A ‘martial arts expert’ weighing 29 stone sought out a social worker at her home and intimidated her during a dispute over his daughter.

Morbidly obese Christopher Lee made “implicit and explicit” threats to the woman when she met him and his partner Nicola Coghlan.

The 40-year-old trained fighter – thrown out of his previous home for anti-social behaviour – then went to her home, leaving the victim extremely shaken, the Liverpool Echo reported .

Lee, from Kirkdale, Merseyside, denied the allegation and was set to stand trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

But today he appeared via video link from HMP Preston and admitted intimidating her.

Paul Blasbery, prosecuting, said the Liverpool council worker met with Lee and Coghlan from July 2014 onwards.

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

He said: “Each time she met the defendant, she says he tried to intimidate her by saying things like ‘if I wanted to attack you I could, but I’m not going to’.

“She describes the defendant as being very aggressive and a bitter man.”

He said Lee called the woman a “f***ing scummy c***”.

Mr Blasbery said: “This was worrying and caused her some distress.”

The victim got into her car to go to work at around 8.20am on September 14 last year, when she heard a car “revving its engine”.

Mr Blasbery said: “She described it as being pretty loud and the vehicle blew its horn about four times. All of a sudden the blue vehicle pulled up beside her car.

“She immediately recognised Mr Lee as the driver. She could also see Ms Coghlan was the front seat passenger.

“She described the window being drawn down and Mr Lee shouting her name.”

He said Lee sped away, while continuing to shout at the victim.

Mr Blasbery said: “This left her feeling extremely shaken and scared because she knew Mr Lee’s past history.

“She also feels shaken because she now understands he knows where she lives.

“Due to her role she was extremely careful of protecting her personal information.”

Mr Blasbery said Lee had a “long record of public order offences” and was last convicted in 2011.

(Image: Trinity Mirror)

Dan Travers, defending, said he had been in custody since the incident and found prison “particularly difficult, bearing in mind his health problems”.

Judge Alan Conrad, QC, said Lee had an “unattractive record”, but had made verbal rather than physical threats and already served the equivalent of a five-month sentence.

The judge gave Lee eight months in jail, suspended for 18 months, and an indefinite restraining order. He said unpaid work was “impractical given his physical state”.

Judge Conrad said: “This was a social worker trying to do her job. She is entitled to be protected from intimidation.

“It is a serious matter to threaten somebody in that position.”

Liverpool Mutual Homes took Lee to court in 2014 over anti-social behaviour and intimidation of workers at his former Allerton home.

He threw out electricians, claiming they unsettled his pet snake, and workmen, after one wore a baseball cap near his Buddha statue.

Workers were forced to form a human chain to protect themselves after Lee – said to have “expertise in the martial arts” – charged at them.

He was barred from being at home during repairs, but said there was no point sending “hairy-***ed coppers round”.

Lee added it would take an RAF rescue helicopter to budge him, shouting: “You’re going to need the 22 Squadron.”

The couple were evicted in 2015, when Lee was given a 28-day suspended prison sentence for flouting the injunction.