Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor: Disgraced ex-prince tells court he was chased by balaclava wearing stalker

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor says he came face-to-face with an alleged stalker wearing a balaclava who chased after him in a confrontation close to his Sandringham home, a court has been told.

Alex Jenkinson, 39, is charged with using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour towards the former Duke of York in Norfolk on May 6.

Suffolk Police are also applying for a civil Stalking Protection Order against Jenkinson, relying on evidence from Mountbatten-Windsor and searches on Jenkinson’s phone.

At Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram read out parts of Mountbatten-Windsor’s witness statement which is due to form the centrepiece of both legal proceedings.

The royal said that when he was out for a walk with his dogs on the estate, he spotted a car which he assumed to belong to press photographers, and then he and his security detail “drove past the car”.

He said a man “turned and faced me - he was wearing a balaclava face covering”.

Andrew provided a description of the “out-of-place” man and added in his statement: “I then saw a loose dog running towards him.

“Then he realised who I was and began to sprint after my vehicle.”

Thursday’s court hearing took place in Jenkinson’s absence after he arrived with his dog, Indie, and was blocked from entering the building by court officials.

As Jenkinson stood on the pavement outside, his lawyer Claire Howell told Judge Ikram: “He has had to bring his dog with him, so he wasn’t allowed inside the court.

“He is homeless and currently in accommodation in a Travelodge (hotel).

“He is not allowed to leave the dog there. It provides him with support, he suffers from ADHD.”

She conceded that she has no documents to prove Jenkinson’s medical condition, or his need for a support animal, and the judge told her: “I’m not prepared to have a dog in the courtroom simply because he is homeless and he happens to keep a dog.

“I’m not saying he is not telling the truth but there’s nothing to corroborate it.”

He added: “We accommodate people who have ADHD and have support animals.

“I would want something more than he is homeless and happens to have a dog.”

The judge heard and agreed an application for the police bid for a Stalking Protection Order to be adjourned, and decided the hearing could take place in Jenkinson’s absence.

Howell told the court Jenkinson has now been found temporary accommodation where he can leave the dog for future hearings, and she added: “I don’t want to give character evidence on behalf of the dog but having spent the last hour and a half with him, I can say he is a very well-behaved animal.”

Jenkinson is accused of causing the former Duke of York to “fear unlawful violence” during the confrontation in Wolferton, close to his Marsh Farm property.

Jenkinson was detained under the Mental Health Act for about a month afterwards.

He has pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen of blood while in custody on May 6.

Mountbatten-Windsor is due to give evidence by videolink at the criminal trial, which has been set for December 21.

In the criminal proceedings, Jenkinson is on bail with conditions not to go near a number of sites linked to the royal family - Sandringham, Buckingham Palace, Balmoral, Windsor and Highgrove.