West Cornforth man held axe to woman's neck as he strangled her

Alan Richard Roberts repeatedly assaulted his long-term partner, threw household items at her and denied her access to money, between his release from prison in August last year and this February.

When she left, seeking sanctuary at a friend’s house, he posted derogatory messages on social media.

Durham Crown Court heard that Roberts held an axe close to her neck, while pinning her to a bed and grabbing her neck with a tight grip, making her to go red, struggling to breathe, and causing bruising to her neck.

He also threw a set of scales at her and the door from a cupboard.

In a victim impact statement she described her life with Roberts as “hell”, losing count of the number of times he would resort to violence.

She said she was denied access to her money and he told her to make transfers directly to him.

Ralf Xhepa, prosecuting, told how when she left the Roberts in January, she went to live elsewhere in West Cornforth, but Roberts turned up and broke the windows of a nearby property.

Roberts was arrested on February 10 and admitted throwing the scales at his partner, making the claim he had found out she was drug dealing.

The victim said she had never returned to the property since leaving and was “petrified” to spend time there.

She has sought help from her GP due to mental health issues and has medication for ptsd, while she is also receiving counselling.

Roberts, 47, of Hawthorn Terrace, West Cornforth, admitted controlling and coercive behaviour, plus two counts of criminal damage.

The court he has 30 previous convictions - the only offence since 2011 was for possessing a bladed article, in August 2025, when he received a 26-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.

Mr Xhepa said the defendant had been detained in custody, but when the sentence was suspended, in August last year, he convinced his partner to, “give him another chance.”

Neil Jones, in mitigation, said as part of that suspended sentence the defendant completed an alcohol treatment requirement.

Mr Jones said there had ben a long gap prior to the offence last year, but there has been a “mental health background” behind his relapse in offending.

He said there has been a long period of “reasonable happiness” in the relationship until a “most unfortunate” few months which followed his release from custody last year.

Mr Jones said the defendant’s mental health issues came from a feeling, “people were out to get him”.

He added that the defendant has been in custody since his arrest on February 12.

Recorder Mark McKone said he accepted for many years that the relationship appeared to have been good, but for the final few months the victim described it as being “hell”.

The Recorder said he accepted that at the time the defendant appears to have been suffering with his mental health.

But he said the offending was in breach of a suspended sentence, of which he activated three months. He added it to 28 months for the more recent offending, making a total 31-month prison sentence.

A restraining order was also made, prohibiting Roberts from contacting or approaching the victim for ten years.