A judge said he was “pleased to be wrong” about a man who once again appeared before him, this time for assaulting his partner.

Bradley Cockle, 26, began dating the victim in 2018 and the relationship was initially going well, but began to hit problems due to Cockle’s drinking.

He would often try and get his partner to go to the pub with him, even when she did not want to, and this would result in arguments between them.

On one occasion, on August 24, 2019, Cockle pushed her into a bush of stinging nettles following one of their arguments.

On October 8, 2019, the victim returned home from work to her mother’s house and when she said she did not want to go to the pub, Cockle pulled her off the bed by her ankles and dragged her along the carpet.

On December 7, 2019, at the victim’s mother’s house, Cockle pulled her back as she entered the house, trapping her leg in the door and causing bruises.

On December 19, 2019, following an argument over the phone about the leg incident, Cockle went around to her house and offered her money.

When he was asked to leave, he gripped her by the neck and pushed his fingers around her eyes, before punching a television and smashing the screen.

A further incident on January 13, 2020, saw the victim pushed into a wall by Cockle where she suffered a sprain.

Cockle was circulated as wanted by the police and handed himself in on August 23, 2021. He denied all the offences.

A victim impact statement from March 2022 said she suffered from anxious and depressive states, and avoided leaving the house except to attend work and university.

Cockle, of Union Street, Rawtenstall, was appearing at Preston Crown Court charged with two offences of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Mitigating, Daniel Harman said: “Back on June 8, your Honour very kindly gave him one last chance to sort himself out, because he was due to go into intensive detoxification and rehabilitation.

“He completed the detoxification, which took him from the middle of June to early July. He completed a second stage which is even more intense than the first, and that concluded last week. He’s completed everything he could have done.

“He volunteers to help the homeless in the local community. He’s keeping himself busy and away from the drink.”

Sentencing, Judge Richard Gioserano said: “I think I said to you back in June you were lucky to be getting your sentence deferred. I did not know, first of all, before imposing the suspended sentence that this case was in the pipeline.

“Although you’ve been lucky in that sense, you have since taken the opportunity you were looking to get, and I am quite surprised by that.

"I told you you were going to fail here and you have proved me wrong, and I am pleased to be wrong, because it shows you are making a lasting change.

“It is unpleasant conduct towards your partner spanning several months.

“I have made you a promise, in effect, that if you stuck to the terms of the deferment, you would not go to prison, and I am going to keep that promise.”

Judge Gioserano sentenced Cockle to 16 months in prison suspended for two years.

He will also have to complete 180 hours unpaid work, 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days, and will be subject to a restraining order for two years.