Cheryl Tweedy stalker jailed for 16 weeks after convicted killer turned up at singer’s home following Liam Payne funeral
A convicted killer who stalked Girls Aloud singer Cheryl has been jailed for 16 weeks.
Daniel Bannister, 50, of no fixed address, breached a restraining order by turning up at the star’s Buckinghamshire home in December 2024.
The incident occurred shortly after Cheryl attended the funeral of former One Direction star Liam Payne.
Bannister had previously been made subject to a restraining order barring him from contacting the singer or visiting her home.
Bannister targeted Cheryl, who uses the stage name Cheryl, while she was living in the Chalfonts area of Buckinghamshire.
The court heard he had turned up at her home on three occasions in January, July, and December of last year.
Cheryl told police she “immediately panicked” when she spotted Bannister outside her home in December.
He had pressed the entry intercom at the mansion she shares with her seven-year-old son, Bear.
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Bannister even asked the star for a glass of wine when he called at her home.
“I knew this was Daniel because I have had previous incidents where Daniel has come to my property,” Cheryl told police at the time. “I was concerned he was looking for a way into the property.”
In an earlier statement to the Crown Prosecution Service, she said his repeated attempts to contact her left her feeling “violated” and in fear of her life.
She also expressed concern for her son’s safety. “It causes me to panic. He is not allowed to be at my home,” she said.
Bannister has a violent past, having been jailed in 2012 for manslaughter.
He killed his neighbour Rajendra Patel at a YMCA hostel in Croydon where they both lived.
The court heard both men suffered from mental health problems, with Mr Patel diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
Bannister brutally punched and kicked Patel, breaking his ankle and nose.
Patel died 15 days later from a pulmonary thromboembolism.
Judge Nicholas Price said Bannister had not intended to cause serious injury or death but the assault was sustained.
At High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court, District Judge Arvind Sharma told Bannister he had to impose an immediate custodial sentence.
The judge has also imposed an indefinite restraining order on Bannister. He is banned from entering any building where he suspects Cheryl to be present.
Bannister is also prohibited from contacting her on social media.
Cheryl did not provide any victim impact statement to be read at the sentencing.
Cheryl, who was formerly married to Arsenal star Ashley Cole, had a high-profile relationship with Payne between 2016 and 2018.
Following Payne’s death after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Cheryl shared a heartfelt statement.
She posted a black and white picture of Payne in bed with their son on Instagram.
“Liam was not only a pop star and celebrity, he was a son, a brother, an uncle, a dear friend and a father to our seven-year-old son,” she wrote.
“A son that now has to face the reality of never seeing his father again.”
