A man who held a knife to his ex’s throat and refused to let her leave his gated compound has been jailed for more than two years - and told he must never go near her again.

Michael Kibble was accused by the judge who sentenced him at Swindon Crown Court of lacking empathy and possessed of a rage towards police who came to his former partner’s aid that was “quite staggering”.

The court heard Kibble’s ex, with whom he has a child, had visited his caravan on the night of May 27 last year. Together with another man the former couple drank cider and smoked cannabis in the mobile home, situated in a walled compound near Warminster railway station.

When the woman woke the following morning at around 6am the friend was gone. Her 25-year-old ex-boyfriend, who appeared to still be drunk and had taken cocaine, accused her of having sex with his friends, which she denied.

Prosecutor Rebecca Fairbairn said the woman had left the caravan. “The defendant came back to get her and insisted on going back with her.”

Kibble grew angry and began smashing up his mobile home, also damaging her phone.

She managed to dial 999 using another phone and stash it in her bra. The 20-minute long call was played to the court. In it the woman could be heard begging to be let out. At one stage Kibble told the sobbing woman: “Shut the f*** up. You’re doing my head in.”

Ms Fairbairn said he threw a toolbox at her and hit his ex’s head with an object – although it was not clear what – leaving a bump. He also dragged her by her hair across a floor littered with broken glass. He told her he had spent a recent period behind bars for robbery “plotting to kill her”, held a Stanley knife to her neck and said “I may as well do it now”.

Although the woman was not able to speak to the police operator, officers were able to work out her location. When they arrived they found her trying to scale the nearly 10ft high walls of the compound.

Her ex, who police saw walking near the caravan, refused to unlock the gates. Bolt croppers had to be used to cut the lock. He repeatedly swore at officers, threatening to bite the nose off one - who he also challenged to go “toe-to-toe” with him.

Kibble, of Bancroft, Bradford on Avon, pleaded guilty last month to a single charge of false imprisonment. He has previous convictions for robbery, possession of a weapon and was given a suspended sentence last year for dangerous driving.

Richard Wayman, defending, acknowledged that the experience would have been harrowing for the victim.

In mitigation, it was said Kibble had experienced difficulties when he was growing up that he was still struggling to deal with, that he suffered poor mental health and had reduced his use of drugs. There had also been a delay in the case coming to court.

Jailing Kibble for 28 months, Judge Jason Taylor QC said he was sentencing on the basis that the woman had been held against her will for 20-30 minutes.

“Not withstanding this false imprisonment was relatively short in duration, it must have seemed like a lifetime and instilled genuine fear and desperation in your former partner,” he said. “You can hear that in her voice.”

He added: “This is more than just a sequel to a lovers’ tiff. You lacked empathy, your remorse is conditional and the 999 call is at times chilling to listen to.

“All she wanted to do was leave and you wouldn’t let her.”

A restraining order prevents Kibble from contacting his ex-partner for the rest of his life.