A JEALOUS man who stole his ex-partner’s Staffordshire bull terrier, just days after being released from prison for terrorising her, has been jailed for five years.

Victim Julie Lewis even saw her tormentor walking her dog, called Storm, down the street, while driving home from Burnley town centre with her son, the town’s crown court was told.

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John Andrew Lewis, 42, formerly known as John O’Brien, had broken into her home and lured Storm away with a bag of dog food, the court heard.

He has now been jailed and issued with a 10-year restraining order after admitting to burglary, possession of a knife and ignoring a previous ban on seeing her.

Prosecutor Lisa Worsley said Ms Lewis’ son James Harrison was sent to retrieve the dog, while she went back to the family home.

Mr Harrison eventually caught up with John Lewis and found he had a bag of dog food in his pocket. He demanded that the pet be returned.

But Lewis said: “Tell your mum if she wants the dog back to ring me. If you get the police, I’ll burn your house down.”

After his arrest, he was found with with a number of personal effects, including jewellery, which had been taken from her home.

The court heard that John Lewis had previously served a 16-month jail sentence, imposed in 2011, for stabbing Ms Lewis, who he only went out with briefly several years ago.

And after being released from prison in early October, for harassing her, and breaching a previous restraining order, he had appeared before Burnley magistrates again and been given a community sentence, for similar behaviour, before his burglary arrest.

Passing sentence, Judge Simon Newell said the defendant had subjected Ms Lewis to years of ‘harrassment and terrorism’ and he needed to be sure there was no repeated of that conduct.

Richard Taylor, defending, said the defendant didn’t necessarily accept some of the threats alleged to have been said to Ms Lewis’ son but he conceded that words had been exchanged.

“The defendant has had problems for many years with alcohol misuse. He has had no intention to address this in the past but there has been a considerable change in attitude since his arrest for this offence.”

The defendant now accepted any relationship with the victim was now over and he was prepared to address his difficulties, added Mr Taylor.