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Ex-Scotland Captain Admits Harassing Partner

Ex-Scotland Captain Admits Harassing Partner

A former Scotland football captain has pleaded guilty to harassing his ex-girlfriend.

Colin Hendry, 49, admitted stalking Sarah Kinder after she ended their relationship earlier this year.

Hendry, who captained Scotland during the 1998 World Cup, sent unwanted text messages and emails to Ms Kinder over a two-month period.

The couple got together after Hendry's wife Denise died in 2009, aged 42, from botched plastic surgery.

Ms Kinder broke off the relationship in late December 2014 but the couple were briefly reunited on 21 February, Blackpool magistrates were told.

She then ended the relationship again on 3 March.

Hendry also made unwanted visits to her home in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, and twice threw stones at her bedroom window before his behaviour came to an end on 18 April.

He had been accused of common assault but the charge was dropped after Ms Kinder retracted her statement.

Ms Kinder attended court but was told she did not have to give evidence when prosecutors decided not to proceed with the assault allegation.

Sentencing was adjourned until 20 August to allow reports to be carried out.

Hendry, of Coopers Row, Lytham St Annes, was told he could face jail, but could escape with a community order.

Earlier this year, the footballer was banned from driving for 17 months after he admitted drink-driving in Lytham.

He played for Scotland 51 times before retiring from the professional game in 2003 and then went on to have a series of managerial positions.

In 2014, Blackburn Rovers announced that Henry had left the club, where he was an Under 21 coach, by "mutual agreement".

In 2011, Sky News reported how Hendry told an inquest he felt "cruelly deprived" of a "special person" when his wife died of meningitis as a result of her internal organs being perforated nine times during an operation.