I slept with a Samurai sword as UK’s worst cyber stalker tormented me with sinister games

THE phone pings and the words ‘Can I tell you a secret?’ pops up on the screen. This intriguing message, seemingly sent from a young woman, was the start of a living nightmare for countless victims of cyber stalker Matthew Hardy - who used fake profiles to harass at least 62 women over a period of 11 years. The loner from Cheshire targeted complete strangers, bombarding them with sinister messages, calls and threats, and posing as them to contact friends and family. The relentless campaign left the innocent women battling anxiety and paranoia, fearing for their lives, and caused relationship break-ups. Abby Furness, now 24, had suggestive pictures of her sent to her much older boss as well as losing her “first love” because of Hardy’s malicious lies. Zoe Hallam, 33, tells The Sun she slept with a Samurai sword in her bedroom after being left terrified by up to 200 messages a day - but police refused to take it seriously, telling her they couldn’t check the number targeting