A pensioner spent over a year harassing Quakers with 'unsavoury' letters and emails in an unseemly row that shocked a local Quaker society.

Julia Wermig-Morgan, 69 and whose address was given as High Street, Burton Bradstock, has been found guilty of two charges of harassment without violence after a summary trial at Weymouth Magistrates' Court.

The charges related to a course of conduct between December 21, 2020 and March 5, 2022 in which Werming-Morgan targeted members of the Bridport Quakers Meeting group.

The court heard the psychotherapist had sent Caroline Kibblewhite, a retired probation officer and assistant clerk of the society, and Valerie Shepherd, one of the elders, letters, emails and postcards.

She accused members of the group of being 'old ladies spreading malicious gossip' and claimed one was an 'alcoholic in denial'.

Despite twice being asked to stop sending the 'distressing' mail by the police, Ms Wermig-Morgan carried on with her campaign of harassment.

The court was shown an email Mrs Wermig-Morgan sent on January 3, 2021.

In it she claimed a 'little clique' had formed in the Bridport society which had been 'bullying' other members including herself.

She claimed that one member of the 'clique' was an 'alcoholic in denial.'

Mrs Kibblewhite, the safeguarding representative for the Bridport quaker group, said the behaviour was 'unacceptable' and had left people in the group 'devastated' and 'quite traumatised'.

She said: "I decided that it wasn't helpful to get into game playing. I deleted them and put them in my spam email and some were forwarded to the elders.

"I was convinced that we were not going to be able to easily get her to realise that her behavior was unacceptable and she needed to refrain but it was one thing after another after another.

She said she met with Mrs Wermig-Morgan in a bid to get her to stop her correspondence.

Mrs Wermig-Morgan accepted sending the correspondence but claimed that she was simply going through the correct channels to report her concerns involving vulnerable Quaker elderly people and children.

 "It was the process to contact them with concerns, I didn't think they should hold a job if they didn't want to answer questions that were part of that role.

"I certainly never would want to give somebody personal distress, but the problems hadn't been resolved so I thought it was my duty to keep raising it. I was thinking of the vulnerable old people and vulnerable children I was trying to protect."

In finding Mrs Wermig-Morgan guilty, presiding magistrate Sara Saunders said: "Mrs Wermig-Morgan was asked to stop both by Dorset Police and the Quakers but persisted. Given her intelligence, we believe she should have or would have known her behaviour would cause distress and find her guilty on both counts."

The case was adjourned with Wermig-Morgan to be sentenced on January 20, 2023.