A TV reporter was found guilty yesterday of harass-ing Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan with an "avalanche" of text messages and phone calls.

Tara Stout (35), from Clapham, south London, sent the millionaire businessman underwear and love letters and billed him for shopping trips after they met in March last year.

Later that year the volume of calls and messages increased to between 100 and 200 each day, the football boss told City of West-m inster Magistrates' Court.

A restraining order drafted by the prosecution was granted, banning Stout from contacting Mr Jordan or his family directly or indirectly for an indefinite period from yesterday.

Sentence was adjourned to October 13 and Stout was released on conditional bail.

Stout has previously hit the headlines with reports of her swapping "steamy" text messages with former England captain and TV presenter Gary Lineker.

Both are said to have denied any physical infidelity.

There were further news reports this summer of her streaking through Soho wearing only a pair of bikini bottoms in protest at being evicted from her flat.

She denied two counts of harassment but was found guilty by District Judge Quentin Purdy.

The judge said Stout alleged that Mr Jordan abused his position as an apparently wealthy man and talked of a "power game" but he added: "I should stress that he is not on trial."

He said Stout was, in his judgment, "clearly guilty of these matters" from what she had said herself in the witness box.

The judge said the complaints concerned an "avalanche" of voicemails and text messages.

He said some of the correspondence was clearly offensive, some rambling and some plainly inane.

He said Stout felt justified in challenging Mr Jordan "bluntly and repeatedly" for what she perceived to be an apparent hypocrisy.

After the guilty verdict, Stout told the court: "I am not stupid."

She added that she was aware that using the court as a forum was wrong.

She said she had "no interest" in seeing Mr Jordan and did not want to contact him.

The former sports reporter said that next time she had a grievance against someone, she would follow a more "logical process and walk away".

Under cross-examination from Stout, who represented herself, Mr Jordan denied sending her lewd messages or that he took his aggression out on her after Crystal Palace lost a match.