A violent man who tormented his partner when he launched into jealous rages has been told he was lucky to avoid immediate custody.

Wayne Ferguson pushed and verbally abused the woman he met on Plenty of Fish after he reacted angrily to her asking for her own space.

The 50-year-old attacked his partner on at least three occasions leaving her fearful for her safety, Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court heard.

Liz McGowan, prosecuting, said Ferguson threw the woman’s mobile phone in the garden to stop her calling for help and on another occasion forced her to come to his home before not letting her in and making her get a bus home.

She said the defendant threw a glass of lager at the woman when he followed her to the Wetherspoons pub in Bishop Auckland before being thrown out by staff.

Describing the final violent assault, the woman told police: “I noticed him walking down the street towards me while I was outside my house on the mobile phone. He grabbed it out of my hand, put it to his ear and said - ‘who the f*** are you?’.

“He followed me into the house, and pushed me with force, which caused me to fall to the floor.”

In a victim impact statement, she said: “He has told me to die and kill myself – this makes me feel awful.

“It’s a very nasty thing to do.”

Ferguson, of River Walk, West Auckland, County Durham, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault by beating between April 1 and May 5 and on May 5 last year.

The defendant, who represented himself in court, said he was now receiving treatment for his alcohol problem and had not contacted the woman since last year.

He added: “Things got out of control sometimes when we had an argument.

“I feel remorseful and I’m sorry for the things that I have done. I’m trying to sort my life out.”

District Judge Helen Cousins told the defendant he was fortunate not to be going straight to prison but warned him to take advantage of the opportunity he had been given.

She added: “Prison is a significant possibility. I note you have been in custody in this process and this may have done its job to deter you from behaving like this again.

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“You tell me how remorseful you are and you tell me you are doing things to address your drink problem.

“If you remain in the community, you will be able to get the assistance you need and prevent you offending again.”

Ferguson was made subject to a 12-month community order with 180 hours of unpaid work to be carried out.

He was ordered to pay £400 compensation and £600 towards costs as well as being made subject of a three-year restraining order.