A JUDGE has told an East Lancashire man – who left his former partner distraught after forcing her out of her home – that he risks longer prison sentences if he does not control his temper.

Aaron Heywood, 29, locked himself inside the house with Rebecca Wilkinson’s five-year-old son.

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Police later found him wandering the street, stripped to the waist and covered in blood, after the confrontation, Burnley Crown Court was told.

Stephen Parker, prosecuting, said Heywood turned up at Ms Wilkinson’s home in Barnoldswick on New Year’s Day, after he had been drinking.

She had been expecting a visitor but when she went to the door she was confronted by her ex-partner.

The court heard Heywood was the subject of a restraining order after being convicted of a battery offence involving his partner the previous August.

He pushed the door open and managed to grab her and push her out on the street, leaving him inside the property with her five-year-old son.

Ms Wilkinson contacted a friend, who returned with her and they both managed to get in and remove Heywood from the property.

PC Sarah Wilkinson, who arrived on the scene, said in a statement that Heywood was bare-chested and his face was covered in blood.

He tried to run away but was arrested nearby.

Tim Brennand, defending, said: “The defendant is of the view that he is now in a new relationship.

“He knows that the rather toxic relationship, which has been the hallmark of the clashes, is now over.”

Heywood had begun to accept that he had a problem which he needed to address, in the way he was ‘emotionally wired’ and reacted to difficulties, he added.

Heywood, formerly of Harrison Street, Barnoldswick pleaded guilty to breaching a restraining order.

Passing sentence Recorder Mark Ainsworth said he accepted the defendant had a difficult upbringing and added: “At some point you have got to put this behind you and move on.”

He imposed a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and also placed Heywood on 12 months probation.