Thug who strangled woman until she started 'seeing stars' is jailed

Benjamin Barrett, 27, also encouraged the female victim to stab herself with a knife and dragged her back inside when she tried to climb through a bedroom window to escape him.

The pair first spoke over social media platform Snapchat and Barrett had declared his love for her, telling her he wanted to marry her, Leeds Crown Court heard.

He then travelled from London to Leeds to meet the victim in November last year and they both went to a shop and bought vodka, before heading to the women's property.

Barrett, of no fixed address, then became upset about his life and started banging his head against the wall in the bathroom.

He then became more irate and accused her of not trusting him, before grabbing her by the throat and pinning her against a wall.

Barrett squeezed the victim's neck for around six seconds, long enough for her to begin "seeing stars", so she grabbed a kitchen knife and held it to her own throat to keep him away.

He then encouraged the woman to stab herself and he also tried to grab the knife and cut his fingers.

The victim also received a cut to her thigh from the knife and Barrett grabbed her by the throat and struck her head against a mirror He refused to leave so the victim tried to escape through a bedroom window but he dragged her back inside.

Neighbours then gathered outside the property in Leeds, West Yorks., having heard the commotion and Barrett, who has no previous convictions, was arrested.

He gave a prepared statement denying attacking the woman and claiming she had mental health issues and then refused to answer any questions.

In a victim impact statement the woman said he life had been "turned upside down" and was not sleeping or eating.

She said: "I'm scared of my own shadow. My anxiety is that bad sometimes. It turns out I did not know him at all."

Mitigating, Lucy Brown said it had been a "very brief relationship" but Barrett accepted prison was inevitable.

She said since being held on remand at HMP Leeds, he had detoxed which had put him on an "even keel" and wishes to address his issues.

Ms Brown said: "He was honest from the outset that he has a problem with his temper."

Barrett admitted a charge of intentional strangulation and Judge Tahir Khan said that he acted "volatile."

He gave him a 30-month sentence and a three-year restraining order to keep him away from the victim.