A MAN who assaulted his partner after he flew into a rage because she had texted someone on a night out tried to get her to drop the charges.

Ciaran Price phoned the woman and tried to make her feel as if it was her fault that he was in trouble by asking her what the children would think if he was sent to jail.

But after hearing that Price, 23, had served three months behind bars on remand a judge imposed a suspended sentence and banned him from contacting the woman.

Colin Meeke, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court that Price was away when he allowed his partner to go on a night out.

"It seems it has been a far from harmonious and unpleasant relationship for quite some time," he said.

"So it was matters turned particularly nasty on the weekend of March 11 to 13 this year when she it seems was allowed, and I put it that way, allowed to go out for the evening with friends, returning home in the early hours of the morning.

"He continued, while she was out, to text her wondering when she would get home.

"She had to prove to him she had got home safely and behaving herself: he had been in Wales.

"She awoke in the early hours, he had her mobile phone in his hand and was looking at the fact she had sent someone else a text message.

"He said he didn't want to be with her any more. Said he would kill himself, drive his car into a wall."

He then picked up a knife and rubbed it up and down his forearm, cutting himself, before turning on her, punching and kicking her to the legs and arms.

She eventually calmed him and he told her 'I wouldn't have hit you if you hadn't sent the text message'.

Just over a week later he phoned her and asked her to let him see the children and to drop the charges against him.

"He asked what would the children think if he was in prison. It seemed to be the same controlling, manipulative, behaviour. Making her feel responsible for all the bad things," she said.

"He also went to her father's address and made a nuisance of himself, tried to persuade the father to get her to drop the charges."

Price of Wood Street, Royal Wootton Bassett, admitted common assault and perverting the course of justice.

Mike Pulsford, defending, said his client had served 97 days on remand and pointed out he had not issued any threats when he asked for the charges to be dropped.

He said he had been using a lot of cannabis at the time, which brought on psychosis, and he now accepted the relationship was over.

Judge Peter Blair QC said: "I have to sentence you for assaulting your former partner and for perverting the course of justice by phoning her some eight days later in an attempt no doubt to dissuade her from pursuing criminal litigation against you, which is a very serious matter indeed and all courts take it extremely seriously. It tends to frighten people and undermine proper justice.

"You have served on remand some weeks now which seem to have resulted in some changes in your understanding in yourself and resulted in you not being a regular user of cannabis.

"You have got a number of mental health issues which are set out in the pre-sentence report which I have taken careful account of."

He imposed a 27-month jail term suspended for 18 months with 15 days of rehabilitation activity requirement and a building better relationships course.

He also imposed a restraining order banning him from contacting his partner or children for five years.