BT worker stalked lawyer for 16 months before attacking him and shooting dead his dog to act out scenes from his own crime novel Graeme Francis, 61, and his wife Clare, 58, were left fearing for their lives at their £1million country mansion Christopher Sims, 40, acted out scenes from a novel he had written On one occasion, Mr Francis was assaulted with an 18-inch long metal pole The couple were left needing anti-depressants to cope with the stress Sims admitted harassing and assaulting the couple at their home A stalker terrorised a couple at their £1million mansion in a year-long campaign that left them thinking they were in a horror film. Christopher Sims chose his victims - Graeme and Clare Francis - at random and violently attacked them both. The 40-year-old, labelled the "silent stalker" by villagers, would prowl the large grounds of the couple's home in affluent Longparish in Hampshire and strike while wearing a balaclava and latex gloves. Harrassed: Graeme Francis, 61, (left) and his wife Clare, 58, (right) were left fearing for their lives The former BT engineer even killed their five-year-old golden retriever Sandy with an air rifle. When police arrested him they found a book he had written on his laptop, the plot of which bore "striking resemblances" to the attacks on the couple. It ended with the kidnap and death of the woman victim. In one assault, with a metal pole, Mr Francis, a lawyer with London-based mergers and acquisitions firm Keystone Law, suffered a head wound that left his skull exposed. The 61-year-old, who has worked with Heston Blumenthal as company secretary of the celebrity chef's Fat Duck restaurant, now has to live with substantial hearing loss and a three inch scar across his head. Mrs Francis, a 58-year-old cookery teacher, was kicked to the ground in her garden by Sims who tried to hit her with a cosh, Winchester Crown Court was told yesterday. Sims admitted harassing and assaulting the couple at their home Longparish, Hampshire Sims, who researched the couple online and examined pictures of their property on Google, would lurk in the bushes surrounding their home before carrying out the attacks that mirrored scenes from the gruesome novel he was writing. The couple, who have four children, were left needing anti-depressants to cope with the stress, which almost drove them from their home. Police were so concerned they installed panic alarms at the house and offered the couple alternative accommodation. Barnaby Shaw, prosecuting, told the court: "Mr and Mrs Francis were subject to a long period of harassment and attacks in the safety of their own home. The attacks happened when they were outside at night or alone. The defendant turned his attention to Mr and Mrs Sims in late December 2010. The couple were attacked in their £1million home in the affluent village of Longparish, Hampshire He staked out their home, researched their details on internet search engines and looked up their property on Google Earth, using the streetview feature to see their home and village. He also found out details about their children, who are older and have moved out. At a previous hearing, Sims had admitted harassing and assaulting the couple between December 1, 2010, and February 9, 2012. Mr Shaw described Sims as a loner and fantasist who compulsively lied to friends and family about having illnesses. After losing his BT job, he set up a solar panel business which failed, costing him the home he shared with his nurse wife in Andover, Hampshire. He moved back in with his parents and then into a tent in woodland. Sims also admitted attacking an elderly "Good Samaritan" who gave him a lift home in his car after finding him stranded on the roadside last August. Sims hit him in the face several times with a hammer - only stopping when the head of the tool fell off. He then pulled his victim from the car, kicked him and drove off from the scene in Odiham Wharf, Hampshire. Five months earlier he had attacked a kebab van owner in the early hours in a quiet layby on the A30, near Hook. Detectives linked the cases together after a review showed Sims had been stopped once in Longparish by fellow officers. An E-fit image (left) released by police after Graeme Francis (pictured right) was attacked in his home In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mrs Francis said the attacks were "like something from a horror film," which left her "petrified," unable to sleep and too scared to go for walks in the countryside around her home. John Goffrey, in mitigation, called for a hospital order and said Sims had been admitted to Broadmoor high security psychiatric hospital. Sims had admitted one charge of harassment, three of grievous bodily harm, one of attempted grievous bodily harm, and one count of theft. Judge Keith Cutler adjourned the case for sentence this afternoon.