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Lily Allen, 30 has revealed she was harassed by a stalker for seven years

Obsessed stranger sent letters and tweets before breaking into singer's flat

Mother-of-two Allen said the terrifying ordeal has turned her into a 'hermit'

Stalker Alex Gray was today sectioned at Harrow Crown Court

The man who Lily Allen said turned her into a 'hermit' in a seven-year stalking ordeal has been sectioned after being convicted of harassment.

Paranoid schizophrenic Alex Gray, 31, told police he planned to drive a knife into the singer's face while burgling her London flat where she and her two children were asleep.

He wrongly believed that Ms Allen owed him millions of pounds for stealing his song lyrics and may have had a part in his father's death.

Ms Allen, 31, lived with a panic alarm after calling police when she saw a sign saying 'I wrote The Fear' in the audience of one of her shows.

She had security shutters installed in her home in Kilburn, north west London, but on October 1 2015 she forgot to lock her door after opening it to place a burned pan outside.

She awoke to hear her bedroom door opening and Gray walked in yelling that she was a 'f****** bitch' in the early hours of following morning.

Gray had already taken her handbag, phone, jewellery, hard drive, keys, a glass vase and money and stashed them somewhere before returning to her room.

Later she found the handbag, which had been burned along with its contents, placed on the bonnet of her car.

The 31-year-old, from Perth, showed no emotion today as he was handed an indeterminate hospital order and restraining order for burglary and stalking at Harrow Crown Court, north London.

She said the presence of another person with her at the time was likely to have scared him off.

Sentencing, Judge Martyn Barklem said: 'This was a terrifying experience for (Lily Allen), and it was extremely fortunate there was an adult male in the property who evicted Mr Gray from it.'

Miss Allen was not present but in an impact statement the singer described her terror when she confronted the stalker in her bedroom and said she could no longer live in the property.

Ms Allen, who was not in court, said: 'The impact of Mr Gray's actions on me and my family has been massive.

'I had already been incredibly disturbed and upset by the letters Mr Gray sent and his contact via social media but the break-in was absolutely terrifying.

'I have had to move as a direct result of Mr Gray's actions. I couldn't live there knowing how easily he could break in and how vulnerable me and my children were.

'He is plainly delusional and obsessed and I am terrified as to what he will do next.

'Given his crazy obsession with me and I am really concerned about the future when Mr Gray is released.'

Ms Allen's ordeal began on December 18, 2008, when Gray arrived at her door and asked her PA if he could speak to Ms Allen but she was not in.

He later returned to give her a romantic letter and a CD of love songs.

Tom Nicholson, prosecuting, said: 'The door was opened Miss Silverthorne [Allen's PA] and Mr Gray handed over a letter and a CD of love songs.

'The letter was romantic in nature and didn't have any threats in it.'

Gray replied, shouting to the court: 'It was manipulated.'

Then in 2009 he claimed on Twitter, using the username @lilyallenRIP, to have written her hit song The Fear.

Gray, of Perth, Scotland, then sent accusations, abusive rants and suicide threats to her home as well as her record company, management offices and sister's shop.

The court heard he then approached her colleagues who described him as looking like Phil Mitchell from EastEnders.

It emerged that Gray had previously been sectioned in October 2014 for attacking a magazine with a picture of Ms Allen in it, but he was released after just two months and then went on to break into her bedroom a year later.

Today Gray was given an indefinite hospital order under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act at Harrow Crown Court for stalking the Smile singer.

He appeared downtrodden in the dock, wearing a charcoal jacket over a blue hoodie in court,

During the sentencing he made several outbursts and held a letter for the judge up to the protective glass that separated him from the courtroom.

Sentencing Judge Martin Barklem said: 'The delusions as Dr [Neil] Hunt has explained in evidence... Is that Lily Allen owes Mr Gray millions of pounds as a result of music he claims to have written.

'He had delusions that the sad death of Me Gray's father is something he believes might have been something which Lily Allen is party to.'

The judge also said how Gray had quizzed the singer about his deceased father's whereabouts.

He said: 'He banged on the locked bedroom door of Miss Allen and when she opened it he shouted 'Where is my father? What have you done with my father?'

He accepted he has 'long and complex' mental health issues and sectioned him indefinitely.

Mauro Maselli, in mitigation, said: 'He acknowledges the trauma and distress that he did.'

Ms Allen previously criticised the Met Police saying they only took the matter seriously after the burglary.

Police only charged Gray with stalking her between the dates of September 1, 2015, and October 15, 2015.

Gray denied burglary and stalking involving serious alarm or distress at trial but was found guilty on both counts on April 1.

The judge also issued a restraining order preventing him from contacting Ms Allen, attending any of her gigs or entering the London boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea or Hammersmith and Fulham indefinitely.

The stalker was convicted of burglary and harassment last month and at sentencing today, he was sectioned by the judge following a psychiatric evaluation.

Speaking to The Observer, Allen said the ordeal has made her wary of others, admitting: 'I'm practically a hermit now'.

The singer also claimed that she was made to feel like a 'nuisance rather than a victim' by police investigating the case.

The singer said : 'Every time I tried to talk to someone about it, it was like hitting a brick wall.

'The police are saying, "Right, it's burglary if you want this guy to get a prison sentence", and you're thinking, "But I don't give a s*** about my handbag.

'It was not special attention I looked for, it was reassurance and validation. The police made me feel like a nuisance, rather than a victim.'

Gray was eventually caught and charged with burglary after he set Allen's handbag on fire and left the charred remains on the bonnet of her car. The stalker was later convicted of burglary and harassment.

Allen said she was not angry at Gray because he 'has a mental illness' and was 'failed' by the system.

She added: 'Until he gets the right treatment and the right help he needs, then I'm not safe. You can throw the book at him, put him in jail, but he'll still be coming out. And the victim is never safe.

'I want some answers from the police. I'm a famous person and had the inclination to push things. If they treat me like this, how the hell are they going to treat someone without those resources?'

Gray issued a statement apologising to the singer and promising not to stalk her again.

He spoke to his solicitor Andy Cave ahead of the sentencing and asked him to make a statement to the press.

Mr Cave said: 'Alex wishes to apologise to Miss Allen for the distress he had caused her.

'It was never his intention to cause her any distress. He wishes to assure Miss Allen that he will not be pursuing her any further.

'He is aware he has significant work to do with his doctors and is looking forward to successfully achieving his release.'

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Lily Allen's stalker, 31, is sectioned after seven years harrassment

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Lily Allen, 30 has revealed she was harassed by a stalker for seven years Obsessed stranger sent letters and tweets before breaking into singer's flat Mother-of-two Allen said the terrifying ordeal has turned her into a 'hermit' Stalker Alex Gray was today sectioned at Harrow Crown Court The man who Lily Allen said turned her into a 'hermit' in a seven-year stalking ordeal has been sectioned after being convicted of harassment.

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