A jilted boyfriend trapped his ex-partner in her home and subjected her to a series of attacks after she invited him back from a party.

Keith Tapper, 26, left Sarah Findlay with suspected cracked ribs and a carpet burn on her back where he had dragged her away from the front door as she tried to escape. He went to the kitchen, fetched a bread knife and threatened to take his own life before falling asleep, Exeter Crown Court was told.

Tapper, of Bakers Hill, Brixham, South Devon, admitted causing actual bodily harm and was jailed for 16 weeks, suspended for a year, and put on supervision for 12 months.

Alex Allsop, prosecuting, said the pair had a two-month relationship but had separated nine months beforehand. They met in a club and carried on drinking at a friend's house before she invited him back to her flat where he got into her bed uninvited and refused to get out. Mr Allsop said: "He put his hand around her throat with a tight grip. She managed to free herself and tried to get out, but he grabbed her foot and she fell heavily against a plant pot and injured her ribs."

Tapper then prevented her from escaping, throwing her on to the bed five times and telling her "she wasn't going anywhere". He bit her arm when she tried to call the police, before telling her she "deserved it for all the suffering she had put him through".

"He then went to the kitchen and came out with a knife which he held up and said: 'I want to die and you're coming with me.' After this, he started to cry and said sorry and fell asleep.

Elias Tuck, defending, said his client was not used to drinking.