A MAN who staged a campaign of harassment against a former partner was today (Tuesday August 25) jailed for ten months.

Jonathan Andrew Cummings was said to have become, “obsessive and possessive”, by the time the relationship ended in March last year.

Durham Crown Court heard that shortly before the split he pestered her with questions about what she had been doing and followed her in his car, described as, “stalking-type behaviour”, by prosecuting counsel Martin Towers.

During a row in his car, as she claimed he was, “driving like a psycho”, he threatened to, “smash her jaw”.

Mr Towers said following their separation Cummings “bombarded” her with calls, making contact, or attempting to, 411 times in May, 2014, and 520 the next month, although he conceded, “some calls did go in the opposite direction.”

On one occasion Cummings entered his ex-partner’s home, without permission, and watched pornography on a computer in an upstairs bedroom, before hiding in a cupboard.

“At that stage her mother agreed to resolve things without going through the courts,” said Mr Towers, but weeks later she noticed she was being followed by the defendant, who persuaded a friend to pursue her in his car.

In another incident, after they rowed about his behaviour, he visited her at her father’s home and threatened to slap her face.

Mr Towers said there were a further two motoring incidents in which he caused her to have to break to avoid a collision in one, before he reversed into her vehicle in the second, shunting her car 50ft and causing whiplash injuries for herself and two passengers.

Cummings was prosecuted individually for that incident and received a suspended prison sentence, earlier this year, plus a two-and-a-half year driving ban.

But, Mr Towers said Cummings went on to breach the suspended sentence and ban with more recent offences of driving disqualified and assaulting a police constable.

The 25-year-old defendant, of Northlands, Chester-le-Street, appeared for sentence at the crown court, having admitted harassment, driving while disqualified, and been convicted of assaulting a police constable.

Andrew Walker, mitigating, said “it has to be accepted his behaviour was distressing”, but it was a situation where the defendant struggled to accept the relationship was coming to an end.

But Mr Walker said it was “reassuring” for the ex-partner that Cummings is now subject of a restraining order to keep away from her.

Jailing him, including eight months for breaching the suspended sentence, Judge Simon Hickey said Cummings’ behaviour in the “stalking” offence was “worrying”.

Cummings was also banned from driving for a further six months.