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Matt Dunford, 30, who claimed to be 'Britain's vainest man', has been ordered to carry out 120 hours unpaid work for harassing an ex-girlfriend, pictured today outside court
A fitness fanatic dubbed 'Britain's vainest man' who set up a fake website claiming his ex-girlfriend was a prostitute has been ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work for harassing her.
Matt Dunford, 30, bombarded Brazilian model Amanda Branco with up to 50 messages a day and tried to blackmail her out of £5,000 after their six-month relationship broke down.
When she refused to pay the bodybuilder, from Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, he mocked-up an escort website profile on Facebook and sent it to her mother and sister.
Dunford failed to appear at Hammersmith Magistrates' Court in February but was found guilty of two counts of harassment without violence in his absence.
The model, who claims he spends £100,000-a-year on his looks and is now working as a stripper, says he took an overdose and suffered a seizure days before the hearing, causing him to miss it.
Sentencing him today, Amanda Barron, chair of the bench, said: 'It involves two periods of harassment over a long period of time, it also involves harassment electronically and wide dissemination.
'This has had caused a great deal of distress for the complainant and possible impact on her work.
'We have decided that these two offences are serious enough to sentence you to a community order.'
Dunford, dressed in a black jacket, a multi-coloured scarf, and black trousers, was given a 12 month community order and told to do 120 hours of unpaid work.
Ms Barron added: 'We also decided we are going to impose a restraining order, we feel it's a necessary precaution.'
The pair had met in Ireland and then went on to work at the same branch of Gymbox in Holborn, central London but the six month relationship ended in October 2013.
The personal trainer bombarded Ms Branco, from Rio de Janeiro, with calls, texts and emails, then tried to blackmail her - although the blackmail did not form part of the harassment charge.
She estimated she was receiving at least 30 phone calls and 50 text messages a day from Dunford trying to get her to meet up with him.
Giving evidence Ms Branco told magistrates: 'I went to Brazil for three months to get away from him. The day I got back - I don't know how he found out - he left me a voicemail screaming "Are you back, are you back, are you back?"
'He kept asking me to meet him, he said he had problems with drugs and needed my friendship to move on and go back to the gym and move on my life. I was getting 30 calls a day.'
Brazilian model Amanda Branco (pictured left and right) says her ex-boyfriend bombarded her with messages and calls and even set up a fake escort profile of her and sent it to her mother and sister
She added: 'In February 2014 he said he found out I wasn't just a stripper, I was an escort.
'He started blackmailing me, saying he wanted £5,000 for what I did to his life. I felt scared and then he started saying if you don't reply, wait and watch what is going to happen.
'He said you have until midnight and he gave me an address for a hotel just five minutes from my house.'
Ms Branco told the court: 'He photoshopped a website saying I was an escort, he sent it to my mum and my sister.'
Describing the harassment Doreen Bogle, prosecuting,said in one text message Dunford said: 'I think you need to go back to Brazil, you are hurting too many people here,'
The fitness fanatic once said he spends more than £100,000 on his beauty regime, including £18,000 on clothes and £10,800 on his hair
Dunford had denied two charges of harassment without violence but was found guilty at an earlier hearing and today told to pay a £120 victim surcharge and £920 in costs. He's also banned from contacting Ms Branco
In another text he said: 'Police hate escorts, they're all druggies and liars.'
Miss Bogle said Dunford had also emailed a friend called Alex, saying Branco was 'pure evil, she literally tried to ruin me.'
He added: 'She's a disgrace, I'm going to make sure she's deported back to Brazil, I have Jack Tweedy's lawyer working for me.'
He also posted a Facebook message 'referring to her as an escort, a prostitute, and a drug user,' said Ms Bogle.
The World Beauty Fitness & Fashion World Championship contestant called police when Dunford arrived her flat demanding to be let in - claiming he wanted to collect his nutritional supplements.
Dunford's career, which the court heard he has worked 'exceptionally hard' for 12 years for, has been left 'literally in tatters' - with only two fitness clients remaining.
His barrister, Jess Ward, said Dunford took an overdose the day before he was found guilty of a charge of harassment last month.
He suffered a seizure and was unable to talk because he had violently chewed the inside of his mouth during the convulsion.
Dunford's (right) barrister said his life had been left 'literally in tatters' after the charges were brought against him by Ms Branco (left) and he is now living at home with his parents in Bedfordshire.
Dunford was only discharged at 1am on 2 February, where he returned to his parents' house in Leighton Buzzard.
In the meantime he has been convalescing with his father, who is a retired GP, and his mother, who is a nurse.
Dunford had denied the charges but was ordered to pay a £120 victim surcharge and £920 in costs.
Magistrates also placed a restraining order on Dunford and ordered that he does not contact Ms Branco. He was told the order will remain in place until further order is made.