Disinherited nephew who sent 'vitriolic' abuse to lawyers after his 'very close' aunt left her £200,000 estate to charity is jailed and ordered to pay £35,000

By JON BRADY, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 10:02, 28 July 2026 | Updated: 10:04, 28 July 2026 A disinherited nephew who threatened to beat up lawyers after his aunt left her £200,000 fortune to charity has been jailed and handed a £35,000 court bill. IT expert Dr Sean Stimson's aunt Helen Smith, with whom he was 'very close', died in 2021 and left her estate to the RSPCA and other good causes. But an incandescent Dr Stimson fired furious emails and letters to charity lawyers at Foot Anstey LLP, branding them 'w*****s' and 'b*****s', threatening to 'beat the s***' out of them after he found out that her estate was being donated. The 48-year-old believes that she wanted to keep her Swindon home in the family despite the terms of her 2016 will. He is still disputing the document but has been jailed for contempt of court over the messages - and for stating that he 'thought he would get away with it because jails are full'. At London's High Court yesterday, Mr Justice Griffiths handed Dr Stimson an immediate jail term of 28 days. The judge also ordered Dr Stimson to pay Foot Anstey's £35,000 costs of bringing the contempt proceedings against him. Lawyers for the firm told the court that the 'abuse' in the email and the letter put Dr Stimson in contempt of court twice - by breaching a previous order banning him from such conduct that had been agreed in January 2025 to see off a harassment claim. Dr Sean Stimson has been jailed after being found in contempt of court over his harassment of a legal firm He had called lawyers at Foot Anstey 'w*****s' after his aunt stated that her Swindon home (pictured) would go to charity  An email sent in June 2025 referred to an appeal he was bringing in relation to his aunt's will and concluded: 'My aunt's last wishes were very clear, and they will not be ignored and if necessary defended by force'. In September that year, he made a further threat of violence to the firm, in which he referred to staff as 'Foot Anstey W*****s'. 'I am giving you one week to return my aunt's house and bury her properly,' he said in the letter to the firm. 'If not I will come and beat the s*** out of all of you including the b*****s. I have had enough of your c*** and the jails are full so I will just keep coming for you until you comply or are permanently hospitalised.' Dr Stimson had disputed his aunt's will on grounds that she lacked sufficient mental capacity and understanding to make her 2016 will, claiming that another later will of 2020 set out her true wishes about her £200,000 home in Cloudberry Road, Swindon. But High Court judge Mrs Justice Hill, in a previous judgment, said that he had not been able to 'substantiate these assertions' and since then probate has been granted to the charities involved. He has continued to dispute the validity of the will, but wound up in court for the first time last year after Foot Anstey accused him of a campaign of harassment after he allegedly turned up at its offices, threatened to send it computer malware, and made 'obscene phone calls' to female employees. Dr Stimson, who denied making any obscene phone calls, ended up settling the earlier harassment claim with Foot Anstey in January 2025 on the condition that he only contact the firm to discuss 'bona fide' issues pertaining to his aunt's estate. But Foot Anstey's barrister Kate Wilson asked for him to be jailed, having allegedly breached that order by sending abusive communications. The letter was a 'clear breach of the undertakings' and contained a 'direct threat,' she argued, adding: 'The vitriolic nature of that abuse added to the intensity of the threats of violence.'  She said the 'b*****s' reference in his threatening letter was especially troubling, as the staff members who had worked on the charity will dispute were women. Dr Stimson sent a threatening letter to Foot Anstey's offices (pictured) - though denied he had done so Dr Stimson, fighting the contempt application, admitted sending an email to say his case would be 'defended with force', but claimed he was referring to legal force not physical violence. He also claimed that he had nothing to do with the 'w*****s' letter, accusing the law firm of having printed it off and sent it to themselves – a claim deemed 'ridiculous' by the judge. His barrister Daniel Mullin, arguing that he ought not to be jailed, said he was 'extremely emotionally involved in the underlying proceedings', adding: 'The start of all this was the death of someone who appears to have been very close to him.' But sentencing him yesterday, Mr Justice Griffiths said: 'The letter was more threatening than the email.  'It was understood to threaten grievous bodily harm against the claimant's staff.... He did mean a threat of unlawful force.' The firm had implemented 'increased security measures' at its office due to the letter, he said, adding: 'That was a reasonable step.' 'The letter was not fired off on the spur of the moment,' the judge added, noting that Dr Stimson had compounded the seriousness of the contempt by later saying that he 'didn't care about it and would get away with it because jails are full'. Saying that he was due no credit for admitting his contempt or showing any remorse, the judge concluded: 'Although I recognise that he was very deeply invested in the legacy dispute...the balance is clearly against suspending the sentence. 'For the two contempts of court, I sentence Dr Stimson to 28 days' immediate custody.' The judge also ordered him to pay legal costs of £35,000.