A MAN embarked on a campaign of fear against two of his former bosses and their solicitor, a court heard.

A jury at Liverpool Crown Court was told yesterday that it did not matter why Leslie Vickerstaffe was sacked from his job with Edbro plc of Lever Street, Bolton, or that he unsuccessfully sued the company for wrongful dismissal.

Vickerstaffe denies four charges of making threats to kill.

The court heard he lost his appeal against the wrongful dismissal judgement and started a campaign against chief executive Dr John Griffiths, financial director John Stanley Matthews and Mrs Fiona Miller, a solicitor with Manchester based Elliott and Co who acted on behalf of the firm.

Mr David Bruce, prosecuting, said Vickerstaffe, of Heatherfield Court, Wilmslow, tried to make a citizen's arrest of the two men and threatened to cause damage to vehicles entering the company premises unless they stopped. During the earlier court battle Vickerstaffe, aged 60, was jailed for two weeks for contempt.

Over the course of the legal fight, Vickerstaffe sent "vaguely threatening faxes" and in May last year Mrs Miller to contact the police after Vickerstaffe wrote that he had reached the conclusion he must be prepared to murder if that was the only means to expose alleged corruption involving Edbro, Elliotts, the Manchester judiciary and the industrial tribunal.

In three further faxes he repeated his willingness to commit murder and kill "one or more of you corrupt b------s", Mr Bruce claimed.

Mr Griffiths told the court he had a personal alarm installed and a photo of Vickerstaffe next to the front door so his wife would recognise him if he called.

Vickerstaffe, who is representing himself, said he had been forced to make the threats in order to achieve a trial by jury because he felt he had been denied justice in the civil courts.

He told Judge Clifton: "As far as I'm concerned after my experience of the past three and a half years all judges are corrupt until they prove otherwise."

He claimed that corruption involving illegal business payments by tipping gear manufacturer's Ebro was at the background of the case.

Mr Griffiths told Vickerstaffe his failure to co-operate and provide information supporting allegations against his company in November 1993 led to his dismissal.

(Proceeding).

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