A PONTRHYDFENDIGAID man choked his partner and spat in her face when she tried to end their relationship, magistrates have heard.

Carwyn Pugh James, 37, left Chantelle Murphy with bruising and soreness after the incident on 20 February at the Cilcennin home the couple shared at the time.

James had pleaded not guilty to two charges of assault and one of criminal damage, but was convicted after a trial.

Aberystwyth magistrates were told he had choked Ms Murphy, as well as spitting at her and kicking her twice in the leg and had even started throwing a kitchen knife at a bedroom door.

Prosecutor Rhian Jones said the couple had been in an “on-off relationship” for a number of years, but that in February Ms Murphy sent James a message saying that she was ending the relationship.

She returned to their home and found James was sleeping upstairs and when she went to go to sleep, he woke up and was verbally abusive, leading to Ms Murphy going downstairs.

James, of Bronmwyn, followed her downstairs where he grabbed two pictures of the couple off the wall, smashing the frame and tearing the pictures up.

Ms Murphy tried to run upstairs but James grabbed her and twisted her arm before grabbing her neck and starting to choke her. He then kicked her legs, leading to Ms Murphy starting to slump to the ground, with James also bending down before he spat in her face.

Ms Murphy tried to go to bed, but James returned to the bedroom with a kitchen knife and started throwing it at the bedroom door and the floor and when Ms Murphy went downstairs James kicked a hole in the wall.

James then followed her downstairs holding the knife to his stomach and saying Ms Murphy should stab him.

Ms Jones said Ms Murphy went to sleep downstairs and when she woke up later in the morning, James accused her of losing him his job by not setting an alarm, before he then kicked her in the thigh.

Ms Murphy called her mother, who got Ms Murphy’s sister to pick her up from the property.

Defence solicitor Alison Mathias said a probation service report recommended a community order with a requirement to carry out a ‘building better relationships’ programme.

Ms Mathias said James would welcome support from the probation service as he felt it could help him.

She said while James had denied the offences, he had been convicted and had to accept that.

James was given a two-year community order with 35 sessions of the building better relationships programme and 100 hours of unpaid work as well as 10 days of rehabilitation activity.

He was made subject to a two-year restraining order and was ordered to pay Ms Murphy compensation of £200 for her injuries and £500 for the loss of her bond on the rented property, as well as costs of £705.