Vine, who presents shows on BBC Radio 2 and Channel 5, spoke at Nottingham Crown Court during the trial of former BBC Radio Leeds presenter Alex Belfield. Vine said Belfield had waged a campaign of abuse against him through social media and YouTube. He told a jury: “This is no ordinary troll here. This is the Jimmy Savile of trolling.’ Referring to videos shown in court from Belfield’s YouTube show, Vine said he wished he hadn’t watched some of the content. He said: “Watching this man is like swimming in sewage. “I thought, ‘This is absolutely disgusting’… I found it shocking and painful and it made me worry.” Vine told the court he had previously been targeted by a stalker who had physically followed him in real life, but said that person was a “picnic” compared to Belfield. At one point, Vine said: “I notice that the defendant is smiling throughout my evidence. It won’t stop me.” Prosecutors allege Belfield, 42, caused serious alarm or distress to Vine, former BBC Radio Leeds presenter Stephanie Hirst and BBC Radio Northampton’s Bernie Keith. Opening the Crown case against Belfield, prosecutor John McGuinness QC said Vine had been “constantly bombarded” with harassing tweets and YouTube videos in 2020. The court was told that Belfield, from Mapperley, Nottingham, started out as a broadcast assistant on local radio and in recent years had set up a YouTube channel known as Celebrity Radio. He denies eight charges of stalking allegedly committed between 2012 and 2021, including three relating to two managers and another presenter who worked for BBC Radio Leeds. Vine said: “It felt like I had a fish hook in my face and my flesh was being ripped apart and the only way to avoid further pain was to stay completely still. “They brought me so low. I just thought, “There’s no point in broadcasting if the result is that I have this.” She told the court she had received 5,000 to 10,000 hate tweets following the defendant’s comments. The case was adjourned until Thursday.
