Cyberstalkers labelled out of touch ‘internet addicts’ by researchers

The National Centre for Cyberstalking Research found that such people tended to be emotionally stunted, struggling to form healthy real-world relationships and so filling the void with virtual fixations.

Explaining their findings psychologist Dr Short said: “It (stalking) can be a consequence of internet addiction, so your cyberstalker's ability to form normal healthy relationships is compromised.

"If you are spending all your time online, your relationships largely become online. That bit of your life starts breaking down and you become more invested in online relationships and more likely to become fixated on those."

It comes as campaign group The Suzy Lamplugh Trust released an animated short to mark National Stalking Awareness Week, seeking to highlight the gravity of the crime and dispel perceptions that it can be seen as a joke.

In particular the charity criticises a range of T-shirts bearing slogans such as ‘You Call It Love I Call It Stalking’ and ‘You're No One Til You Have Your First Stalker.’

The growing preponderance of the problem means one in six women and one in 12 men now find themselves as cyberstalking victims.