A woman has spoken of her horror after her husband’s sister impersonated her on the phone to cancel their wedding and then tried to SABOTAGE the big day itself.
Sandra, 29, and husband David Greatrex, 53, have revealed the sustained hate campaign by his sister Ann Duffy who tried to scupper their marriage plans.
The harassment culminated in her cancelling their wedding without their knowledge just weeks before the big day.
After the ceremony did go ahead Duffy showed up at the registry office when they had photos taken to shout abuse and stuck two fingers up at the couple.
Duffy was sentenced to eight weeks in prison in February 2014 after admitting to impersonating Sandra on the phone to the registry office in Plymouth, Devon.
But speaking for the first time about the rift that torn her family apart Sandra, of Plymouth, Devon, said: “I was in tears and angry. I wanted to go nuts at her. Everything was paid for so it was a lot of worry. We were up all night.
“I did not think someone was capable of doing that.
“How low can you get? This is your brother getting married. We had paid for everything and I thought she’d ruined it.
“In the morning we rang the registry office and they confirmed that our wedding had been cancelled.”
“They said we should come in so they could print everything off for us to give to the police.”
It was only 20 days before the big event that the couple received the distressing phone call.
David said: “I was lying in bed when the phone rang and Ann said ‘I’ve got to tell you – you might want to pot the phone on loudspeaker’.
“Then she said ‘I’ve saved you from divorce. I’ve cancelled your wedding’.”
Duffy, 51, of Plymouth, had created an email address in Sandra’s name to set about jeopardising the couple’s plans.
The couple eventually managed to get their wedding plans back on track, and later took Duffy to court over the harassment.
Despite later trying to pull them apart, it was Duffy who had intitally played matchmaker to the couple after David’s previous 20-year marriage fell apart.
But later Sandra says Duffy started sending her threatening text messages telling her to stop seeing her brother.
She said: “They were hurtful at the time but I couldn’t understand why.
“My mum had lung cancer and was going through chemo at the time.
“Ann was sending messages saying, ‘Your mum’s dying and you better get back to her’.”
When the couple got engaged, Sandra says the angry texts from Duffy tailed off.
They then booked their wedding at Plymouth Register Office and began preparing for the big day.
In 2012, Sandra’s mother lost her battle with cancer and a year later David’s mother Celia also became ill and moved in with Sandra and David.
But the rift re-ignited as Sandra wouldn’t let Duffy in their house.
“I wouldn’t let her come to my house and see her mum because of all the hurtful thing she’s said to me.
“She could come to take her out but not in the house.
“She made a big deal about that and said that I was trying to replace my mum with her mum and that I was taking her away from her.”
When Sandra reported Duffy to the police, she admitted it straight away and was given a date to appear in court.
But the angry text messages still continued and when the big day arrived, the couple still feared Duffy might ruin it.
Sandra said: “We didn’t see her until we got outside.
“We were going to get photos taken when she started shouting commiserations, filming me and putting two fingers up.
“I wish I didn’t have to go through that, but I still had the best day I could have wished for.”
Duffy was jailed for eight weeks at Plymouth Magistrates’ Court and was also given a restraining order.
Sandra added: “It’s jealousy bitterness and anger. To this day if she could split us up she would.
“But we’ve been through so much, I don’t think there’s anything out there that could hurt us.”
Ann Duffy did not appear on the television documentary that featured the couple’s story that was broadcast in the documentary Family Secrets and Lies on Channel Five.
But she told the programme she had her reasons for cancelling the wedding and loved her brother.
