Accrington thug threatened pregnant ex with machete

Paul Birtwell, 34, appeared at Preston Crown Court having pleaded guilty to threatening a person with a bladed article, stalking, criminal damage, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The court heard Birtwell, of Water Street, broke a window at his ex-partner's house in Blackburn by throwing a food waste caddy at it, punched her in the face while holding her hair, and sent her numerous threatening messages over a two-day period.

Judge Darren Preston delivered a scathing assessment of Birtwell's crimes, labelling him "pathetic" and his apologies as "empty."

Addressing the defendant, he said: "There is absolutely no excuse for what you did. Yet, you decided to do that very thing to a woman who was supposed to be your partner and, as you well know, was carrying your child.

Preston Crown Court (Image: Anthony Moss)

"You cannot hide behind drugs and alcohol in relation to that offence [the assault] because you admit you were perfectly sober at the time.

"You repeatedly sent messages to her, and in exactly the same way as this court sees a thousand times a year - whining self-pity, pathetic self-pity, and self-serving behaviour, followed by threats and abuse.

"She must have been terrified by your persistent threats and violence. Her young child was present when you smashed her window, and you assaulted her.

"You say in your pre-sentence report and in your letter to me that you are deeply sorry for what you did. I wonder how many times you've said that over the years in courtrooms across the North West, and to judges who have sentenced you.

"Like any pathetic, snivelling apology by a bully who has been caught, your apology is empty and meaningless. You can be a thoroughly aggressive and violent bully.

"You've repeatedly been given community orders and suspended sentences. On 17 occasions, you have breached them. You're clearly very sorry when you're there being sentenced, but not after when you're skipping into the distance thinking you've got away with it.

"You think you're a big man when you pick on a woman not as strong as you. You're not a big man, you're a pathetic coward."

Katie Lord, prosecuting, told the court Birtwell and his ex met in December 2025 and entered into a relationship, but they had split up by the time the offences happened in July.

Birtwell went to the victim's house to collect some trainers, and she left the front door open for him to do so while she was in the shower.

He instead went through her phone and accused her of sleeping with his friends, and threatened that her children would be removed from her care if she called the police.

He then ran up to her, grabbed her hair, and punched her to the face and head, resulting in a black eye, bruising, and a lump.

The following day, the victim received a text message saying the defendant would take his own life, and further texts came which were abusive.

At around 12.50am on July 8, she woke to the sound of smashing and broken glass after Birtwell threw a plastic food waste caddy through her window.

She looked outside to see the defendant and another male on a motorbike in front of her house. Birtwell removed a large machete from a sheath and was waving it around, and shouted: "Send him outside now and I'll chop yous [sic] both."

When he was interviewed by police, Birtwell admitted going to the house but said he was only doing it to scare her. He initially denied assaulting her, saying she had returned from a trip to Essex already with the black eye.

Constance Haliwell, defending, said Birtwell was entitled to a third credit due to his guilty pleas. She said prior to these offences he had been getting his life back on track after a period in prison.

Birtwell was sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison.