An ‘obsessive and paranoid’ drunken man who grabbed his girlfriend by the throat before assaulting a police officer attempting to arrest him has been locked up.

Kriss Wilson downed a bottle of rum before becoming argumentative and aggressive towards the woman in her home while the children were sleeping upstairs.

The woman tried to get the 40-year-old to leave but instead, he grabbed her by the throat, clenched his other fist and said threateningly ‘I will show you real abuse’.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the police were called and Wilson attacked the officer by knocking him to the ground before he was overpowered and arrested.

Cole Cockburn, prosecuting, the couple had broken up previously due to allegations of domestic abuse but the victim asked for bail conditions to be changed to rekindle their romance.

The court heard how things came to a head when the victim asked him to leave her home when he started making comments about her former partner having access to his child.

Mr Cockburn said: “She tried to usher him to the front door, he extended his right arm grabbed hold of her neck and applied pressure, such that his breathing was restricted.

“He then raised a clenched fist to her face as he shouted – ‘I will show you real abuse’. She managed to free his grip and flee from the property.”

In a victim impact statement, the woman said: “He has been physically and emotionally abusive towards me for too long.”

Mr Cockburn said the attack on the officer, who was an army veteran, had left him feeling more mentally damaged than two tours of duty with the forces.

Kriss WilsonKriss Wilson (Image: Durham Constabulary)

Wilson, of Peel Street, Darlington, pleaded guilty to intentional strangulation and assault on an emergency worker in the early hours of August 23 this year.

Elisha Marsay, mitigating, said her client had little recollection of the evening due to the amount of alcohol he consumed but recognises that is not an excuse.

She added: “What is clear is the amount of remorse he has shown for his actions to both complainants in the case and he understands the severity of his actions and apologises wholeheartedly to both.”

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Judge Richard Bennett locked Wilson up for 20 months after the victim described his behaviour as ‘controlling, obsessive and paranoid’.

He said: “When she eventually attempted to get you out of the property, you responded by grabbing her phone and then grabbing her neck and squeezing it tightly.

“That squeeze was tight enough to risk her airways to the point where she couldn’t breathe for a few seconds. Even a short squeeze around the neck has the potential to be fatal.”

Wilson was also made subject of a ten-year restraining order.