Disgraced Stephen Bear back in court as he admits guilt over council row

22 November 2023 , 13:29

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Stephen Bear is currently severing a prison sentence

Jailed reality TV star Stephen Bear has admitted to erecting a large fence round the front of his home and pleaded guilty after breaching an order to remove fencing around his home by Epping District Council.

Bear, who was jailed in March this year after being found guilty of voyeurism, disclosing private, sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress, and harassment without violence, was due at Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday [November 21] following the original hearing being postponed in February.

The one-time Celebrity Big Brother winner, 33, has been taken to court by Epping Forest District Council after adding a black metal fence around his £600,000 home without planning permission prior to being jailed earlier this year. The council claim the black fence around Bear's property is "in excess of Permitted Development height."

The council originally sent a notice to Bear in May 2021, ordering the Ex On The Beach star to remove the structure but the disgraced celebrity is alleged to have ignored the request. Bear then failed to appeal the order. Bear was called to a hearing at Chelmsford Magistrates Court, Essex, on March 3 2022 where he denied being in breach of the enforcement order between August 2021 and January 2022.

Stephen Bear is currently serving a prison sentence (REX/Shutterstock)

A trial had been due to begin in February this year, as Bear awaited sentencing for his conviction for image-based abuse, but was rescheduled for this week. According to Essex Live, Bear, 33, was handed a notice by local planners to remove the black metal fencing that encloses his front garden in May 2021.

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Appearing at Chelmsford Crown Court on Tuesday (November 21), bear entered a guilty plea. A statement previously issued by Epping Forest District Council said the gates and railings at Bear's Loughton property are "in excess of the Permitted Development height". The council said Bear did not appeal the notice and failed to comply with it.

Following a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court last year, Bear was found guilty of voyeurism in December by a majority verdict and guilty to two counts of disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress by a unanimous verdict. Bear was accused of planning to film himself having sex with Love Island star Georgia Harrison, 27, at his home in August 2020, and sharing the CCTV video on his OnlyFans account without her consent.

Georgia was in the courtroom as the verdict was read out in December, sitting with family and friends. Bear remained calm after it was read, but at the end, while in the dock, he said "From the beginning, it was never a fair trial, I was always fighting a losing battle."

Bear was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment in March this year and began serving his sentence at HM Prison Chelmsford, before being transferred to HM Prison Brixton in August 2023.

Zoe Delaney