A HUSBAND announced he wanted a divorce through a message on social networking website Facebook.

Emma Brady, 35, of Accrington, said she was left “shell shocked”, especially as the pair still shared a home.

The move by Neil Brady, 39, of Baxenden, emerged at a court hearing where he admitted assaulting her.

Mr Brady changed his status on website from “married” to “single”, sending a message to all of their friends that “Neil Brady has ended his marriage to Emma Brady”.

They had been married for six years.

She said: “It all been very embarrassing. I have had people who I haven't spoken to for years contacting me asking what is going on.”

But Mr Brady hit back at his estranged wife and said she had known their marriage was not working out before message was posted.

Facebook is a website used by members to send messages, share photographs and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves.

The website currently has more than 150 million active users worldwide.

Speaking after the case, Mrs Brady, who works for Anvic Developments in Burnley, said: “I only joined Facebook because the girls at work said it was good fun.

“What upset me the most was not the fact that Neil had written he had ended his marriage, but the comment from a girl in Canada who said 'You are better off out of it'.

“It hurt me that he had been speaking to someone else about it.”

The Facebook message was revealed when Mr Brady appeared at Blackburn Magistrates’ Court this week .

The court heard that on December 21 Mrs Brady was woken at 2.30am when Mr Brady threw a glass of red wine over her.

During a row, she was then thrown out of the marital house in Dent Dale, Accrington, wearing just a dressing gown and injured her wrist.

Miss Allen said: “He claimed a police officer had seen her with another man in Accrington and when she told him to contact her manager and ask where she had been he accused her of having an affair with him.

“He took his wife’s handbag and started to search for her mobile phone which she refused to give him.

“He grabbed her by the wrist and threw her out of the back door and locked it.”

At court Mr Brady, of Southwood Drive, Baxenden, pleaded guilty to assault.

He was fined £580 and ordered to pay £100 compensation and £75 costs.

Catherine Allan, prosecuting, told the court: “She hadn’t realised there were any issues until her husband put a note on Facebook saying their marriage was over.

“After that he became threatening towards her.”

Gareth Price, defending Mr Brady, said his client claimed he had spoken to his wife several times and suggested a separation and rejected her claim the first she knew of it was on the website.

Mr Price said: “He was keen to try and arrange the most amicable separation that he could.

“The relationship became more and more strained as he thought she was drinking too much and he became convinced she was being unfaithful.”

Speaking after the court hearing Mr Brady said that when he changed his personal details on Facebook his wife became angry.

Mr Brady, an IT technician, said: “This was such a minor incident but as with many divorces the issues are never black and white.”