'I want to put a knife in you, leave it in there and watch the life drain out of you'

A jealous stalker bombarded his ex with hundreds of calls and threatened to kill her. Billy Bland, 26, had been in a volatile relationship with the woman for a matter of months, frequently splitting up and reconciling.

In April last year, after the woman ended the relationship, he grabbed her top and took her phone when she tried to leave. In July, following a row, Bland threatened her. In October, she broke up with him for good, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.

Bland, who was living in Stockport at the time, said he wanted to kill her. The woman received hundreds of telephone calls, in which threatened her with violence and said he would to take his own life, prosecutor Max Saffman said.

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"On one occasion he told her 'I want to put a knife in you, leave it in there and watch the life drain out of you'," the prosecutor said.

Bland also said: "I want to kill you… cut your f***ing face off, speaking to me like that… I feel like cutting your f***ing head off."

On October 9, he called her one hundred times, saying he knew where she was and that he was 'going to find her and put her head on a stick'. The woman was so frightened she moved away.

"Stalking is one of the most unpleasant offences to come before these courts," judge Angela Neild said, adding: "It is difficult to understand how a young man with no previous convictions escalated to this level - it' a worrying position."

In a statement, the woman said she was 'terrified' and could not eat or sleep. "She was scared to go out alone due to the threats made," Mr Saffman said.

Mitigating, Adam Brown said his client had served the equivalent of a six-month sentence on remand. "He wanted to be a positive influence on her life and tried to offer her support, but he undermined that intention by his conduct and could not control his emotions in the relationship," he said.

"He believed she was not being faithful to him and that led him to not being able to control his emotions. He has expressed to me how ashamed he is and how embarrassed by his conduct, and expresses genuine remorse."

Sentencing, the judge told Bland: "You threatened to kill yourself, which is often used on victims of offending as it imposes an unwarranted and unnecessary guilt. The threats you issued towards her were frankly appalling."

Bland, of Coronation Street, Oakenshaw, Bradford, was handed a 15-month sentence, suspended for two years after pleaded guilty to stalking and common assault. He was also ordered to complete 120 of hours unpaid work; 10 days of rehabilitation activity requirements; and the Building Better Relationships programme.

He was ordered not to contact the victim under the terms of an indefinite restraining order.