Workington man who threatened to 'chop up' ex-partner jailed

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Mark LittleImage source, Cumbria Police
Image caption,
Mark Little admitted the charges at Carlisle Crown Court

A man who threatened to "chop up" his former partner with an axe has been jailed for six years.

Carlisle Crown Court heard Mark Little assaulted Amanda O'Brien several times, including one attack where she was head-butted and dragged along a floor.

On another occasion Little, 51, punched her in the face, grabbed an axe and said "I will kill you and chop you up".

Little, from Workington, admitted making a threat to kill and causing actual bodily harm.

The court heard the assaults began at the home of a mutual friend on 6 March, with witnesses reporting Ms O'Brien and being "bloodied, bruised and hysterical".

At the same house a week later, Little pushed her to the floor, dragged her by the hair between rooms and took hold of a large black axe, which prosecutor Tim Evans described as a "heavy, sharp and frankly fearsome weapon".

Although he dropped the axe, Little told terrified Ms O'Brien "shut your mouth, I will kill you and chop you up", before head-butting and punching her.

The court was told the victim was so distressed she moved away from Cumbria, telling police "I honestly believe he could kill me".

Little, of Milburn Street, who the court heard had a criminal record spanning 35 years, pleaded guilty to assault, causing actual bodily harm, making a threat to kill and perverting the course of justice.

Recorder Kevin Grice told him: "You are, in my view, a controlling, manipulative and devious man who, in certain circumstances, fuelled by drink and drugs, is capable of threatening and inflicting violence, particularly on women."

Little was also banned from contacting the victim for seven years.

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