A JILTED boyfriend flouted a restraining order by calling his girlfriend in front of a police sergeant after threatening to smash up her car.

Despite Billy Watts's behaviour, his partner Mary-Anne Poyner says she loves him and wants the restraining order lifted. The 23-year-old dad of Cleeve Drive, Worcester, admitted three breaches of a crown court restraining order at Worcester Magistrates Court yesterday.

The breaches of the three year order happened between August 1 and 24 and on August 23 and August 24 this year. The new harassment offences came almost immediately after the order was made at the crown court on August 1.

The order was imposed for criminal damage and harassment after Watts used a rake to smash the windows of her Vauxhall Corsa and harassed her with phone calls, at one point hiding behind a hedge and jumping out to confront her outside a Worcester school, angry she had dumped him. This was in itself a breach of a suspended sentence order (six months suspended for two years) for battery and possession of an offensive weapon, a sentence not activated at the crown court. The couple had been in an 18 month relationship and have a young daughter but broke up in May of this year. Miss Poyner told police: “He’s constantly contacting me, telling me how much he loves me and needs me in his life."

On August 23 she was asleep in a bedroom and was awoken by a loud knocking on the door as he said ‘babe, let me in!’ before he shouted that he was ‘going to put the door through’, said Sarah Hurd, prosecuting.

“She tells him to leave her alone. He persists. She refuses him entry” said Miss Hurd. Watts swore at her and said: “I will give you a good reason to call the police. I will smash your car up!”

Watts was arrested. The following day he was in the custody suite and asked to speak to his ‘auntie’ but instead ‘rings this lady’ (Miss Poyner).

Miss Hurd said: “He rings this lady in front of the custody sergeant and immediately it’s answered by this lady who puts the phone down.”

Miss Hurd said Miss Poyner wanted the restraining order lifted and ‘doesn’t want too much punishment for him’. She has been advised she will have to contact the crown court to apply for the restraining order to be lifted.

Miss Hurd added: "He's got a pretty poor domestic violence history."

Jason Patel, for Watts, said: "The reality is he accepts what he has done. I ask you to afford him maximum credit for that."

Mr Patel told magistrates his client had had 'a turbulent time of it' and there had been times in the relationship when his mental heath had been poor.

He has since been prescribed medication for anxiety and depression. He said of Miss Poyner: "If she wants the order removed, she can have it removed."

He read out emails sent from her to Watts while he was in prison including 'miss you', 'no regrets' and 'you're my babe, my world'. Magistrates sentenced him to 100 hours of unpaid work and made a 12 month community order. The chairman of the bench told Watts: "We have taken you at your word. Now you to live up to that."

He was ordered to pay courts costs of £135 and a victim surcharge of £90. This will be consolidated with existing fines of £2,181 and deducted from his benefits.