A disgraced black cab driver bombarded socialite Jemima Khan with more than 1,000 phone calls after getting her number through a taxi app she used, a court heard.

Hassan Mahhmood, aged 27, was a "big fan" of Mrs Khan after her marriage to his hero, Pakistani cricket legend turned politician Imran Khan.

Ms Khan, who is the daughter of late billionaire entrepreneur Sir James Goldsmith, told Isleworth Crown Court that she had agreed to take a selfie with Mahhmood after he picked up her and some friends from a jazz club on June 16, 2016.

Not long afterwards, the "obsessed" taxi driver obtained her number through taxi app Hailo and used 18 different mobile phones to send her 203 text messages, 1,182 phone calls and "loads of" WhatsApp messages.

The court heard on Thursday (September 28) that Mahmood had told Mrs Khan that he "loved her", "wanted to know her" and asked her "why he could not be friends with her".

"He was totally obsessed with her and wanted to meet her to the extent the last two text messages in July 2017 consist of him wanting to come and visit her," the prosecutor, Ruxana Nasse, said.

"The fear of that prompted her to go to police after several months of enduring the stress he put her through.

"It was her sheer kindness of not reporting him in the first instance."

Mahhmood described himself as a "big fan" of Ms Khan after her marriage to "his hero" Imran Khan

The black cab driver from Waltham Forest pleaded guilty to a charge of harassment without violence between June 16 2016 and July 18 2017.

He pleaded not guilty to a more serious charge of stalking the 43-year-old journalist, with the charge being allowed to lie on file.

Judge Martin Edmunds QC said he was "deeply concerned about the level" of Mahhmood's obsessive behaviour and adjourned sentencing while he studied reports to understand what was behind his obsession.

During his harassment campaign, Mahhmood's marriage broke down and he was also stripped of his Hackney Carriage licence.

Jemima Khan received 203 text messages, 1,182 phone calls and "loads of" WhatsApp messages from 18 different mobile phones

In a victim impact statement, Khan, who is Richmond Park MP Zac Goldsmith's sister, said: "The incident has made me incredibly anxious at times. I would be home alone and he would call me several times and text repeatedly late at night.

"Sometimes he would send texts saying he would come to my house. That really frightened me."

In a further statement, she added: "I feel extremely vulnerable and scared as a single woman. As a result I'm planning to move house.

"He seems to have become increasingly unstable and unpredictable. I'm worried about what he will do."

The court heard that Mahhmood had been stripped of his hackney carriage licence and was his marriage had broken down

Despite Mahhmood having no previous convictions, the prosecutor told the court he should be sentenced on the basis of his "persistent pestering behaviour".

The defence lawyer, Umar Ali, responded by arguing that none of the messages were of a threatening nature.

"He was a very big fan of Jemima Khan, who was married to a very influential person in Pakistan - a very big sports personality," he said.

"He says Imran Khan was his hero."

Sentencing was adjourned to October 26, with the judge telling Mahhmood he needed pre-sentence reports to find out what was behind his "obsessive behaviour".

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