Former Swaffham town crier Edwin Godden sentenced after he ‘lost the plot’ and harassed woman

A former town crier has been convicted after he “lost the plot” and subjected a woman to a barrage of harassment.

Edwin Godden, 52, of Queen Street in Swaffham, left his victim feeling “oppressed”, “sad” and “stressed” after persistently contacting her, sending unwanted emails, delivering letters to her employers and attempting to speak to her partners.

He had denied a charge of harassment without violence, but was found guilty following a trial in May - and was sentenced at Lynn Magistrates’ Court this morning.

Godden was handed an 18-month community order, which will require him to complete 35 rehabilitation activity days and 300 hours of unpaid work.

He will also be made the subject of a mental health treatment requirement, and a five-year restraining order was put in place to prevent him contacting the victim or her mother.

Today, the court was told that Godden - a former town crier and church figure in Swaffham - harassed the woman between December 2022 and March 2023.

She met him following a “difficult chapter” in her life, having contacted an organisation where he was a member to seek volunteering work.

They became friends and their relationship developed from there - but when the woman developed a romantic interest in another man, Godden “lost the plot”.

In a series of victim personal statements which were read aloud in court today, the victim said: “I have never made out that he is a monster. I have just presented to the police what I know and the evidence.

“I believe he only wanted the best for me at some point, but at some stage that got lost in his obsession with me.

“As soon as he knew I was in a relationship with someone else, he lost the plot.”

The victim also accused Godden of spreading “misinformation” about her on social media, as well as “gaslighting” her.

“I hope he gets help so no one else becomes a victim, because I am concerned he will find another vulnerable person,” she added.

Mitigating ahead of Godden’s sentencing, solicitor Charlotte Winchester said the defendant is “very sorry for his behaviour”.

“Mr Godden was in an intimate relationship which clearly meant more to him than it did to her, and when it was over he struggled,” she said.

“It is fair to say that Mr Godden completely accepts responsibility, and he is very sorry for it.

“He accepts responsibility for it, but his life really has changed as a result of his offending.”

Ms Winchester added that Godden, who has previous convictions for offences such as criminal damage and battery, has now lost his church trusteeship.

He also has mental health issues and problems with alcohol, the solicitor said.

“He has moved on from this relationship. It has had a hugely detrimental impact on his life,” she concluded.

The victim denied throughout proceedings that she was ever in an intimate relationship with Godden.

Godden was also ordered to pay £325 in court costs and a £114 victim surcharge.