A DANGEROUS yob held a 10-inch carving knife to his terrified ex-partner's throat as his two-year-old daughter pleaded: "Please daddy, don't", a court was told.

Now, Aaron Heywood, 22, of Hinton Street, Burnley, has been jailed for 14 months.

Heywood had forced his way into Mandy Heys's house and threatened to kill her after a friend wound him up by telling him she was having a party, Burnley Crown Court heard.

The court was told he had previous convictions for threatening Miss Heys with a screwdriver, waving a knife around whilst demanding to see her and for thrusting a glass into a man's face in a pub after he laughed at him.

The court was told Heywood, who became paranoid and jealous after too much alcohol, had not long been out of prison and had just been reunited with the victim.

His two-year-old daughter awoke the next morning and asked if her daddy was going to kill her. The defendant's behav-iour was slammed as "outrageous" by a judge who said at this time he posed a significant risk of causing serious harm to others and would be treated as a dangerous offender.

Judge Chris-topher Cornwall told Heywood: "Your daughter suffered significantly as a result of your behaviour that night."

The defendant had admitted affray and criminal damage in February and had been committed for sentence by magistrates.

He was given 14 months custody and will be released when the parole board decides he is safe and not automatically at the "half way" point.

Sarah Statham, prosecuting, told the court the defendant came out of prison last December and he and Miss Heys resumed their "volatile" relation-ship.

On February 3, she received a call from Heywood saying he was staying out the night drinking with friends.

She invited her friend around to watch a film. The defendant later rang threatening to burn the house down and as the women and child watched the television the door sprang open and Heywood ran in brandishing a 10 to 12 inch carving knife.

Miss Statham said the defendant threatened to kill Miss Heys, grabbed her by the hair, dragged her off the settee on to the floor, got on top of her and put the weapon three inches from her face.

His daughter was pleading: "Please daddy, don't."

Heywood also threatened to stab Miss Heys's friend and then threw the knife into the garden and blamed his friend for telling him she had been having a party.

Michael Murray, defending, said the incident was "ugly and unpleasant" but that Heywood had not caused physical harm in the past, let alone serious harm.