A CARLISLE man who deliberately scratched his former partner's car with his bike's handlebar has been punished with a 14-week overnight curfew.

The moments when 40-year-old Andrew Bateman 'impulsively' and 'recklessly" committed the criminal damage were captured by a CCTV camera, a court heard.

The defendant, of Burnett Road, Carlisle, admitted damaging the Citroen car on May 20 last year and committing a similar offence on September 26 –by riding his bike into the same woman’s front door.

The incriminating video footage from May 20 showed the defendant riding his bike alongside the car, deliberately scraping his handlebar against the bodywork.

“You could hear the audible noise of the contact,” prosecutor George Shelley told the city’s Rickergate court.

The defendant moved the bike along the entire length of the before pausing, and looking back towards the car to check on the damage he had caused. Mr Shelley said the cost of repairing the car's bodywork exceeded £2,000.

The second offence happened after the defendant rode his bike to the woman’s home, damaging the front door’s paintwork by riding into it.

Kate Hunter, defending, said there was an element of recklessness in Bateman’s offending and he had failed to realise the extent of the damage he would cause. “Mr Bateman said it was a very toxic relationship,” said the lawyer.

District Judge John Temperley said Bateman would benefit from working with the Probation Service.

He imposed a 12-month community order, which will include 15 rehabilitation activity days which the judge said should focus on how to deal with the “frustrations” within relationships without resorting to similar offending.

The curfew will run from 7pm to 7am.

Dealing with the compensation, the judge noted that the defendant is not currently working and, given that he is currently depending on benefits, he ordered that Bateman should pay £750 towards the cost of repairing the victim’s car.