A woman who was “petrified” of ending a relationship with her violent boyfriend was seriously assaulted when she finally summoned up the courage to call it off, a court heard.

Andrew Ashworth strangled her until she blacked out and then punched her numerous times in the face in a brutal 30-minute attack.

The 28-year-old, who was already on bail for a previous alleged assault on the same woman, was sent to prison by a judge in Preston.

Ashworth pleaded guilty to assault his partner causing her actual bodily harm and also criminal damage to her flat and mobile phone.

The court was told the couple had been together for around two years at the time, but she decided she wanted to end the relationship.

Isabella Denn-Wight, prosecuting, said: she had an “ongoing fear” of him. “She was afraid of what he might do.”

When he eventually found out, the couple had a row in which Ashworth smashed property in her flat and then chased her around the room. He grabbed her round the neck and she passed out.

“When she came round he was punching her causing injuries to her face and a swollen neck. She ran out into the corridor but he followed her.”

When a neighbour came out Ashworth left the building, but only after taking her mobile phone and throwing it at her, damaging it.

At the time he had been on bail for a previous accusation of assaulting the same woman two months earlier with a condition that he should not contact her. He was eventually found not guilty in that case.

Barrister Tom Lord, representing Ashworth, said his client had previously spent a prolonged time in prison, having been jailed for five years for robbery. But he had kept out of trouble for some time after that.

He said he felt remorseful for what he had done to the victim – she sat in the public gallery throughout the hearing.

Judge Philip Parry told Ashworth he had a poor record of offending including multiple offences of violence. He also had a history of not complying with court orders.

He had begun the relationship with his victim in 2024 but throughout she had been concerned about how he would react if she ever told him it was over. On the night his anger erupted he had been drinking and taking drugs.

“You smashed things in her flat. She knew she was in for a beating.” He said she had tried to escape from him in the property and sought safety in another room. “But she wasn’t safe,” he told him.

“You grabbed her by the neck. She lost consciousness. When she came round you were punching her in the face.

“This went on for some time – around half an hour. You took her phone off her so she couldn’t (call for) help. She got into the corridor, and you threw her phone at her, which smashed.”

Police were called and they took photos of her “bloody and scratched face” as well as bruises to her body.

Judge Parry added: “You were already on bail for another allegation of assault. You shouldn’t have been together at all that night. You had instructions not to contact her.

“For whatever reason, ultimately you were found not guilty in a lower court (for the first alleged assault.) But on that night (this case) you were on court bail.”

He described the case as one of “serious domestic abuse” and added his behaviour that night had been “appalling”.

The court was told Ashworth, of Yorkshire Street, Burnley, had issued letters of apology to the court and to his victim for the way he had behaved.

Judge Parry sent him to prison for a total of 18 months and issued a restraining order banning him from making any contact with his victim for the next seven years or visiting her address in Blackburn.