A CARLISLE woman’s former boyfriend twice breached a court order which had banned him from contacting her.

As the result of a court restraining order that was imposed in 2016, following his conviction for an actual bodily harm assault on the woman, Stephen Wilkinson, 40, was barred from having any contact with her.

But between November 11 and 13 last year, the defendant flouted that order by phoning the woman a number of times, prosecutor Daniel Bramhall told Carlisle Crown Court.

There were 11 calls on November 12 and 16 the following day. The prosecution accepted that the calls were either silent or not picked up.

The second breach of the restraining order happened in the early hours of November 13, when the defendant went to the woman’s address and knocked on a window.

The defendant said he knew the woman was not in at the time but that her friend was at the house. He returned to the property several hours later the same day and spoke to his ex-partner’s friend.

Wilkinson has 69 previous offences on his record, including previous breaches of the same court order. The court heard a summary from the impact statement made by the victim.

She said she had been in a relationship with the defendant which began in 2008 and lasted for six years. It had been a 'volatile' relationship, with the defendant demonstrating jealousy about other males.

The woman spoke about the defendant’s struggle with drug addiction and about the violence she suffered at his hands.

She described him as 'manipulative, possessive and jealous.'

“She fears that on his release from prison that he is not going to stop behaving in the way he does,” said Mr Bramhall.

The barrister added: “She says that her time with Mr Wilkinson has been torture and she would not wish it on anyone.  She does not wish to have any further involvement with him."

Kim Whittlestone, defending, said the defendant, of East Nelson Street, Denton Holme, Carlisle, did not speak to the woman in his phone calls or leave messages. He acknowledged that he has violence on his record, but he had not been aggressive when he visited the woman’s house.

“He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after suffering a significant assault many years ago,” said Miss Whittlestone. This had impacted on his ability to deal with emotional conflict, but he was now seeking to address his drug addiction.

“He realises that he has to change his ways,” added the barrister.

Recorder Peter Horgan told the defendant: “You are simply ignoring the court order and seem willing to offend without consideration of it."

He noted that the offending happened at a time when there were other stresses in the defendant’s life and how his former partner had expressed the wish that Wilkinson will get the helps he needs.

But she had also commented: “He’s ruined my life for long enough; I want to be able to live a happy life. That’s not too much to expect.”

The judge jailed Wilkinson for 13 months and ruled that the restraining order should remain in place indefinitely. He told the defendant: “You clearly do need some help. Take it and leave that lady alone.”