A CARLISLE man has been jailed after a court heard about how he "wrestled" his former partner to the ground so that he could inspect her mobile phone.

At the city’s crown court, 34-year-old Marc Austin admitted stealing the phone and subjecting its owner, his former long-term partner, to a common assault by beating. The prosecution accepted his not guilty plea to burglary. 

It happened on the evening of February 24 at the woman’s home in Carlisle, the court heard.

The defendant arrived at the house as a take-away meal was being delivered for the woman, who was at home with the former couple’s children. Merely by being at the property, the court heard, Austin was flouting bail conditions imposed earlier.

He told the woman he wanted to chat to her “for five minutes” but she refused, telling him to leave. Austin was making comments about how the woman looked and what she was wearing.

“Shortly after those comments, he saw her phone on the nearby sofa,” said prosecutor Tim Evans. “He grabbed the phone and walked away with it. He wanted to interrogate it and asked her for the password but she said no.”

The woman managed to retrieve her phone and held it behind her back, but Austin at that stage wrestled her to the ground and again took hold of the phone, said Mr Evans.

When the woman told him that his actions were being recorded by a security camera, he pulled up his hood and left.

The court heard that the 34 offences on the defendant's record included an actual bodily harm assault, for which he was given a suspended jail term and sent on a "building better relationships" course.

He was also recently given a four month suspended jail term for possessing a knife in a public place. This happened in Carlisle on January 15.

Mark Shepherd, defending, said the defendant had been in custody since February 26, at a time when his father had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Austin himself suffered from various mental health conditions, including personality disorder and mild learning difficulties. “In essence, he’s spent half of his life with her,” said the lawyer.

Mr Shepherd said Austin had struggled to comprehend the ending of his relationship with the woman and had simply wanted things to go back to the way they were. When attempting to get the phone, he was struggling to control his emotions.

Recorder Kate Bex KC said the defendant had exhibited what many people would view as controlling behaviour, grabbing her by the arms and hands.

She jailed Austin for 25 weeks but noted that the defendant is likely to be released in the next few weeks, given the time he has spent in custody.

The judge also imposed a two-year restraining order, banning Austin, of Fairybeck Gardens, Carlisle, from contacting the women or going within 50 metres of her home.