A LOVESICK Netherton man who threatened to kill his former partner just hours after being ordered by a court to stay away from her has been jailed for 18 months.

James Pearson had been hit with a non molestation order after his 17 year relationship with the woman came to an end.

The 33-year-old was told he was not allowed to have any contact with the woman and he was banned from going within 100 metres of her home.

But later the same day he shouted threats through her letterbox and returned to the property just two hours later to issue more threats outside the front door.

The woman finally alerted police when Pearson returned to her home the following day and rattled her letterbox.

He was seen by police officers and bailed pending further inquiries but two weeks later Pearson went to her place of work and warned her that if she did not drop the case he “would do her".

Lee Egan, prosecuting, told Wolverhampton Crown Court the victim had been so frightened by the threat she would not leave her home.

Pearson, of New Road, admitted three breaches of the order and a further charge of witness intimidation and Judge Amjad Nawaz ruled only an immediate jail term was appropriate.

He told Pearson: “Witness intimidation strikes at the core of the criminal justice system.”

The court was told Pearson now accepted the relationship was well and truly over and he was now determined to get his life back on track.