CHERYL is in a ‘bad place’ after her ‘living nightmare’ ordeal with a stalker, reports claim.
The pop star’s torment finally came to an end this week after Daniel Bannister was jailed for 12 months after breaching a restraining order and visiting her home.
Previous incidents have left Girls Aloud star Cheryl — mum to son Bear — ‘violated and terrified’[/caption]
With Bannister behind bars, Cheryl can remember ex Liam Payne on the first anniversary of his tragic death next month without fears for her safety weighing over her.
A source told OK! Magazine: “Cheryl has been in a really bad place, it’s been a living nightmare – she was scared to even go out of her front gate.
“It’s been really tough on her and Bear, and after the heartbreak of losing Liam, it was the last thing she needed.
“Everyone’s hoping she can concentrate on what’s important to her now, and be able to mark the anniversary of Liam’s death properly, without this horrendous thing weighing on her.”
Cheryl said Bannister, who was jailed for the manslaughter of a man at a London homeless shelter in 2012, left her feeling “violated” and “unsafe in her own home” in an impact statement read out at Reading Crown Court this week.
She was left “nervous and on edge” after Bannister tried to contact her at her Buckinghamshire home.
His campaign of harassment began when he went to Cheryl’s mansion on January 25, 2024.
A restraining order was imposed after a court heard the 50-year-old left Girls Aloud singer Cheryl, 41, who lives with son Bear, eight, feeling “violated, terrified and unsafe in her home”.
But terrified Cheryl said it was clear his “punishment didn’t deter him or make him understand that this type of behaviour is not ok or acceptable.”
The court was shown video footage of the second time Bannister rang Cheryl’s intercom.
The creep could be seen pressing the button and waving at the camera.
He then walks away a few seconds later after failing to get an answer.
In a victim impact statement, the former X Factor judge said the unwanted behaviour left her and her young son frightened.
“I have a young child to protect living at the address that Daniel continues to show up at…Daniel has also made my young child scared,” she said.
Judge Alan Blake sentenced Bannister to 12 months’ jail, telling him “she does not wish any contact with you”.
Cops arrested Bannister in a swoop on his bail hostel after he showed up at Cheryl’s address on June 19.
The court heard he turned up in a taxi at 9.59pm and rang her doorbell.
He believed the singer had invited him to her home over Microsoft Teams, the hearing heard.
Bannister has previously been jailed for the manslaughter of a man at a homeless shelter[/caption]
The former X Factor judge saw a stranger approach her doorbell camera and say: ‘It’s Dan. I’ve come to get Cheryl’[/caption]
Prosecutor Leandra Smith said: “He rang her intercom and did not get an answer. He left and returned a few minutes later and rang the intercom again. He also peered over her gate.”
Bannister had already been jailed for four months in September 2024, and given a three-year restraining order, for unwelcome visits to the star’s address.
But on December 10 last year, after he was released from prison, he returned to her home.
This unwelcome approach came as Cheryl was grieving One Direction star and Bear’s dad Liam Payne, who fell to his death in Buenos Aires last October.
Bannister was then jailed again for 16 weeks in March and handed an indefinite restraining order.
Cheryl said: “When Daniel Bannister returned to my property on Thursday 19th June 2025, after his second stint in prison regarding the same issue, I was stunned.
“Daniel has been sentenced twice now for this unwanted and scary behaviour towards me. Each time he returns I worry that his intentions have intensified, especially considering his previous offences.
“It’s clear that punishment didn’t deter him or make him understand that this type of behaviour is not ok or acceptable.”
Cheryl added: “I am nervous and on edge every time I open the gate to my property. I feel constantly like I have to look over my shoulder everywhere I go.
“No person should have to feel this way when going about their day-to-day activities.”
The singer told the court how she has been forced to hire extra security personnel at her home.
She said the incidents have also left her eight-year-old son Bear “scared”.
She continued: “I have a young child to protect living at the address that Daniel continues to show up at…Daniel has also made my young child scared…
“I wish Daniel would stop this intrusive and alarming behaviour and get help with understanding this is completely unacceptable, terrifying and is having a detrimental impact.”
The judge also imposed a fresh indefinite restraining order which prevents the creep from contacting Cheryl directly or indirectly, including online or via social media.
His Honour Judge Blake told the defendant: “If you do, Mr Bannister, have any concern or care towards Ms Tweedy, then I suggest that you heed that message which she couldn’t give any more clearly to you in that victim impact statement.
“She does not wish any contact with you and you’re causing her anxiety and terrifying her and her family.”
He continued: “You have shown little regard for Miss Tweedy’s welfare or for the orders the court has imposed.”
The judge told Bannister to “draw a line” through his behaviour, adding: “Or you will find yourself returning to custody for a longer and longer period.”
Bannister was previously jailed for 30 months in 2012 for manslaughter after he launched a “sustained” fatal attack on Rajendra Patel.
CCTV showed him punching and kicking the 48-year-old at a YMCA hotel in Croydon, south east London.
Bannister’s visit in December came weeks after grieving Cheryl had attended the funeral of her ex, One Direction star and Bear’s dad Liam Payne[/caption]
