A MAN who breached a restraining order by harassing a former partner has been spared an immediate jail term.

David O'Neill, 20 was put on a suspended sentence after he admitted the offences, which took place in Calne, when he appeared at Swindon Crown Court.

O'Neill, of Bromley, Kent, had been accused of stalking the woman but that was dropped after he admitted the lesser charge.

O'Neill, who had assaulted the woman in the past, had been banned from contacting her by the order imposed by magistrates when they were living in Croydon.

But, in September last year, he repeatedly contacted her after she moved to Calne and on one day plagued her with calls from before 3am in the morning to the afternoon.

Colin Meeke, prosecuting, said that the couple had corresponded over social media, despite him being banned from contacting her.

But, on Sunday, September 7, he bombarded her with calls from the early hours of the morning, causing great upset.

"It is right to say that while she answered some of these and talked to him she didn't answer others. Some calls she says he was unpleasant in, others he was nice to her," said Mr Meeke.

"The first was at 2.46 in the morning, then went on. Scores of calls through that day. The last of them at 1.34pm in the afternoon."

Steven McCaffrey, defending, said his client wanted to make it clear that her allegations that he had threatened to kill her were not true.

"Mr O'Neill at the time of the offence felt hard done by. He had been assisting financially," he said.

"As soon as the money stopped the complaint was made."

He said that his client had spent 175 days in custody on remand, which is the equivalent to a jail term of almost 12 months.

Judge Tim Mousley QC said: "This has all the hallmarks of someone who was seeking to control your former partner.

"Uppermost in my mind is that you left her extremely distressed: I hope you didn't get any pleasure in doing that to her."

Mr Mousley imposed a nine-month jail term suspended for 18 months, with a year of supervision, and reminded him the restraining order was still in place.