A bigamist who "destroyed" his wife's life when she found out he was already married to another woman has been jailed.

It was a beautiful summer's day when John Dickson, 67, married Evonne Wilde in a church in Prittlewell -  the same church her parents had married before.

But as the pair were saying "I do" back in June 2018, Dickson, from Southend-on-Sea, was already married to another woman named Barbara.

Evonne made the startling discovery one day when divorce papers came through the post to her house.

The discovery "destroyed" her and caused her "extreme distress and anguish".

Dickson packed his bags and Evonne kicked him out of the house on the same day.

The next time the two saw each other was at his sentencing hearing at Basildon Crown Court on March 12.

The court heard how Dickson admitted that he should only have married one person at a time.

Judge HHR Samantha Cohen described his actions as "unlawful, a betrayal of Evonne, and an insult to the sanctity of marriage" before sentencing him to three months in prison.

The only good thing to come out of the horrific state of affairs, Barbara said, was that the two woman have now become friends.

"No mention of the existence of Barbara, let alone he was married to her"

Dickson had already been married to another woman who sadly died of cancer before he met Barbara in 1999.

They were married three years later in 2002, but things began to fall apart.

The couple separated between 2005 and 2007 but did not divorce.

Dickson and Evonne started to spend time together in 2016 and quickly fell in love with one another.

Prosecuting barrister, Anthony Abell, said: "He got in touch with her on Facebook and following that communication Evonne Wilde and Mr Dickson first met face to face in 2016 at her home in Shrewsbury.

"They spent some time together that day and in fact he made a significant impression on her when they met."

Dickson was diagnosed with prostate cancer during their relationship and Evonne took him to the doctors for his medical appointments.

But all this time, Evonne only knew of Dickson's first wife who had died of cancer - in fact, nothing was mentioned about Barbara.

"No mention whatsoever was made to Evonne of the existence of Barbara, let alone that they had been married," Mr Abell added.

"The relationship intensified and he proposed to Evonne in October, 2017 and she decided to accept him."

"She was surprised to hear that [they were getting married] because they were still married"

The first Barbara heard of the marriage was through Dickson's brother, who contacted her to tell her he was going to the wedding.

She then contacted her still-husband on November 3, 2017.

Mr Abell said: "She was surprised to hear that because they were still married. She contacted the defendant by text or email, first to congratulate him for finding someone else and to point out they were still married and suggested to get a divorce dealt with prior to his marriage.

"She heard back from him in May 2018 when she got a message, she had an email or text message effectively asking if she had got the details of the solicitor and said he had changed his solicitor.

"There had been no earlier message about the solicitor and she followed on and said I don't have any and there was no response."

Mr Abell explained that Barbara was busy dealing with her own problems struggling with cancer and found the whole situation stressful.

"The defendant was well aware because his wife Barbara had contacted him that he was still legally married to her before the wedding took place but nonetheless he married Evonne on June 9, 2018 in the church in Southend.

"It's right to say that Evonne was a pensioner who had, to what appeared to her, a very pleasant relationship which had come into her life out of the blue and was very happy with the wedding."

"He agreed he should only have married one person at a time"

Evonne, still blissfully unaware of her husband's bigamy, only found out when her daughter opened a letter sent to their house in June 2019 - nearly a year after their wedding.

"Her daughter called Marie had been expecting a rather important letter and opened a letter believing it was for her but in fact it was for the defendant," Mr Abell said.

"When she opened it, what she saw was a decree nisi for the defendant's marriage to Barbara."

Marie rushed the letter up to her mum and gave her a moment to digest the horrific news.

"Evonne was extremely upset and left the house to try to collect herself and control herself. She was shocked and confused."

A case was packed for Dickson and he was asked to leave the house - they have not seen each other until the hearing.

Evonne also changed her surname back to her maiden name.

In police interview, Dickson said he believed as he hadn't heard from Barbara in 10 years he presumed they were divorced, adding he was "too lazy to check".

Mr Abell added: "He agreed he should only have married the one person at once."

"Scared to be left alone"

In Evonne's victim statement, she said the emotional impact of what happened caused her to have depression, panic attacks, and emotional numbness, adding that she is now "scared to be left alone".

"She has suffered sleepless nights from having nightmares which have led to panic attacks," Mr Abell read.

"Physically, the effects on her have been nervous tremors and depression."

She has also since been prescribed anti-depressants and has needed her inhaler pump" more than usual" because of her chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Mr Abell, reading from her victim statement, continued: "I have no interest in hobbies, news, I lack all enthusiasm or drive to do things and I am reluctant to socialise with family or friends.

"I am embarrassed to talk to people due to what happened and my confidence and self-esteem is below zero.

"I was lied to and utterly misled that I was marrying an entirely different person."

"They have destroyed someone and called it love"

During their relationship, Evonne said that Dickson constantly checked up on her and wouldn't let her know any of his personal affairs, banking or finances.

Evonne also forked out the costs for their wedding, paying £3,870.65 by herself.

"This incident totally broke my trust in people and the world. It put my family through extreme distress and anguish," Mr Abell said.

"I don't know how someone can live with themselves knowing they have destroyed someone and called it love."

After contacting Dickson in November 2017 to congratulate him and suggest a divorce, Mr Abell explained how Barbara could do no more having just lost her mother and becoming ill.

The court heard how Barbara has also suffered mentally with depression and anxiety, which she now has medication for.

"She has found it very difficult to sleep any length of time as she was constantly worried about how to get a divorce." he said.

Four months after they broke up, she went into voluntary bankruptcy which she told herself was "justified to be rid of him".

"Barbara and Evonne have been in contact with each other and right at the end of Barbara's personal statement, she said: 'The only good thing to come from this is a friendship between Evonne and being able to talk about dealing with a liar.'"

"He was lazy"

Mitigating for Dickson, Mike Warren said: "Mr Dickson was not conducting two marriages at the same time, there's been a clear gap in time between the end of the relationship with Barbara and the marriage to Evonne in June 2018.

"The lady concerned he knew from around 2000 lived in Shoeburyness area as outlined. They reunited at a time when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

"He had some treatment for tests in 2016 he says that Evonne was extremely caring for him and started to cohabit with her soon after the immediate recovery period.

"Mr Dickson says he accepts he was lazy and did not prove matters."

Mr Warren added that it is Evonne who has suffered the most "going through this marriage at a church where her parents married in Prittlewell."

He said: "Mr Dickson fully accepts the heartache at his inaction and dishonesty."

Dickson lived out of his car for some months before moving into a multi-occupancy in Leigh-on-Sea.

Mr Warren added that he is also suffering with health issues including COPD and arthritus.

"He wasn't the cavalier sometimes seen on TV dramas conducting trouble - there was a clear gap in the lead up to the marriage with little contact that had been going on."

Judge's remarks

Judge Cohen said: "Mr Dickson on June 9, 2018 you married Evonne Wilde. You were already married to Barbara and you knew full well that what you did was unlawful, a betrayal of Evonne, and an insult to the sanctity of marriage.

"Your behaviour devastated Barabra, your living wife, who was herself very unwell at the time. She warned you, making contact with you and told you first of all, she congratulated you on the good news and secondly she warned you needed to take steps to organise your divorce from her.

"You completely disregarded her kind and sensible advice. This was a deliberate offence and you simply lacked the decency to do the right thing and have your affairs in right order.

"You behaved in a fundamentally dishonest way."

Dickson was handed a three-month jail term of which he will spend half behind bars and the other month-and-a-half out on licence.

He was also ordered to pay £1,000 compensation and a £115 victim surcharge.