Denise Welch confirms she’s moved house after knife-wielding stalker received seven year jail sentence for starting a fire at the property

Denise Welch has moved house after she was targeted by a stalker who started a fire in a skip on her driveway.

Toraq Wyngard, 56, was convicted in September 2021 of stalking causing serious alarm or distress to the actress between September 18, 2020, and February 11, 2021.

He was jailed for seven years and seven months after stalking Denise and starting the blaze on her property which which spread to her garage, causing £4,285 of damage.

Actress Denise was home at the time of the incident but a passer-by alerted her, enabling her to escape. 

On Saturday, former Coronation Street star Denise, 65, confirmed she and her husband Lincoln Townley, 51, had moved from the home.

Taking to Twitter, she publicly sent a message to her broadband provider to complain the service to her old home had not been cancelled.

She wrote: ‘For 2 weeks I’ve tried via your system to cancel my service. Every time it says someone will contact me. They haven’t. I don’t want to pay for a service I no longer need as we’ve moved.’

Chester Crown Court previously heard how stalker Toraq plagued Denise by turning up at the £800,000 Cheshire home she shared with husband Lincoln and left unwanted messages.

On September 19, 2020, he set fire to a skip on the driveway of the house which later spread to the garage.

When police arrived, they found Wyngard, of Salford, Greater Manchester, near the address carrying a knife in his backpack.

Gareth Bellis, prosecuting, told the court that the fire service had attended the property on the night of the blaze after the couple had been alerted by a member of the public ringing their doorbell.

The fire – believed to have been started using an accelerant – was soon extinguished but there had been a risk of the fire spreading and ‘creating a large amount of toxic smoke’ and causing ‘serious injury or death’.

He returned to Denise’s home the following February and damaged a garden gate and daubed it in graffiti – writing in marker pen the words ‘witch’ and ‘pimp’ and an upside-down cross. 

It was to be the start of a ‘horrible time’ for Denise and her husband, who were relieved when Wyngard was finally apprehended by police.

During police interviews, Wyngard – who has a history of mental illness including bi-polar disorder – denied being involved and answered no comment to questions. 

But he admitted a charge of stalking the ex-Hollyoaks actress and causing serious alarm or distress between September 18, 2020 and February 1, 2021 and a hearing in September.

He also admitted charges of arson, possession of a bladed article, and criminal damage.

But on the day he was due to be sentenced on October 26, 2021, he indicated he wanted to change his plea – leading to a further delay.

At the time, Judge Michael Leeming apologised to Denise and her husband as they had attended court expecting to see Wyngard sentenced.

Wyngard failed in his application to overturn his guilty plea and was later sentenced.

Television personality Denise has previously spoken of the heavy toll Wyngard’s harassment has had on her family.

‘This has been an incredibly terrifying and stressful time for me and our family,’ she said.

‘We are grateful to the fire service for their prompt action saving our house and to the police for their amazing vigilance and support.

‘Special thanks go to the Harm Reduction Unit assigned to us who have guided us through this horrible time every step of the way.’