Man, 25, jailed after harassing former partner

‘He has not covered himself in glory’

A MAN breached a restraining order by banging and kicking his ex-partner’s door and shouting: ‘I love you.’

Liam Royle’s ex-partner, who was nine months pregnant, was inside and her partner had to hold back the door to prevent Royle getting in.

The 25-year-old fled before police arrived but handed himself in about a week later.

The incident placed the defendant in breach of a 16-month suspended sentence he received last year for breaching a community order which he was given for breaching a nonmolestation order.

Now Royle has been jailed for 20 months at Stoke-on-trent Crown Court.

Prosecutor Jas Dhaliwal said the defendant’s relationship with his partner ended in 2018 and she obtained a non-molestation order in July 2019 to stop him contacting her.

But he breached the order and was made the subject of a community order.

However he breached that and received a 16 month suspended jail sentence.

And last June he was made the subject of a five-year restraining order which prevents him contacting his ex or going within 100 metres of her home.

But Royle attended her home at 7.30pm on December 9.

Mr Dhaliwal said: “His ex partner was nine months pregnant. He turned up banging, hammering and kicking at the front door.

“He shouted, ‘I love you,’ and, ‘Daddy loves you.’ Those inside could tell his voice was slurred and intoxicated.

“Her partner was using his full body weight to hold back the door.

“Both were genuinely scared. It went on for five minutes.

“He fled before the police arrived.”

But the defendant contacted the police on December 15 and agreed to be arrested at the Asda car park in Cheadle. Royle, of Hall Avenue, Leek, pleaded guilty to breaching a restraining order and committing an offence while subject to a suspended sentence.

Hamish Noble, mitigating, said: “He has not covered himself in glory. He accepts and understands that and he apologises for his actions. He recognises the court will view dimly his breach of any order.”

Judge David Fletcher said: “You failed to accept your relationship is over.

“The way you have dealt with your refusal to accept that is to go around and cause problems at her address.

“The penny does not seem to have dropped, perhaps until now.

“This was a deliberate breach of a restraining order but not a very serious or persistent breach.”

Royle will serve half the sentence with the rest on licence. The restraining order will remain in place.

Judge Fletcher added: “You would be foolish to get yourself involved in anything like this in the future.

“You have to put this relationship behind you.

“You cannot take the law into your own hands.”