Man who choked ex-partner in front of child jailed

Richard Dickinson was jailed for a year at Newcastle Crown Court

A man who tried to strangle his ex-girlfriend in front of a crying child has been jailed for a year.

Richard Dickinson, 30, tricked his ex into letting him in and began choking her, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

He told her he "may as well kill her" but stopped when the woman's seven-year-old daughter cried.

He admitted non-fatal strangulation with a judge telling him it was a "serious offence of violence" which left the woman "utterly terrified".

'Saved her life'

The court heard Dickinson, of West Denton in Newcastle, went to the woman's home at about 20:15 BST on 30 May and began shouting at her to let him in.

She initially refused but he climbed on to the roof and told her had been stabbed, so she allowed him entry "against her better judgement", His Honour Judge Tim Gittins said.

Once inside, he put the chain on the door after hearing the woman call for police, then pushed her and grabbed her round the throat with his hand causing "immediate pain" and her to gasp for breath, the court heard.

Prosecutor Benjamin Whittingham said Dickinson claimed he would "stab" any police officers who arrived to help her and told her he "may as well kill her too".

He only stopped when the girl began crying, telling the woman the child had "saved her life", the court heard.

'Deep trauma'

He fled when police arrived but was arrested a short while later, later telling officers had been there to argue about money.

In a statement, the woman said she now felt "imprisoned" in her home as she feared having any doors or windows open or letting her daughter play in the garden in case Dickinson returned.

She was also "constantly on edge" and too afraid to go into Newcastle city centre where he would often be.

In mitigation, the court heard Dickinson, who has 53 convictions for 97 offences including violence, had had a troubled life having been raised in care and had drug, alcohol and mental health issues.

The judge said the offence was "seriously aggravated" by the presence of a child who was "shamefully having to witness domestic violence in that way that studies show has an enduring affect".

He said the message needed to be got out that domestic violence was "serious" and strangulation posed a "significant risk of physical harm" and "deep psychological trauma".

A restraining order was also made banning Dickinson from contacting the woman for five years or entering any street where he believed she may live.