A man used a screwdriver to seal the windows in his flat to prevent his partner from leaving, a court heard.

David Hawthorne appeared for sentencing at Ipswich Crown Court on Tuesday.

Hawthorne, 45 and of Lilac Drive in Lowestoft, had pleaded guilty to coercive control in a charge relating to a woman he was in a relationship with between May and November last year.

The court heard that they had met through mutual friends, and that the first month of their relationship had gone well.

However, the relationship deteriorated when he began to drink heavily and “push her about”. The court heard that the woman was particularly physically vulnerable during this time, having sustained a neck fracture.

Hawthorne, 45, was jailed at Ipswich Crown CourtHawthorne, 45, was jailed at Ipswich Crown Court (Image: Suffolk police)

As time went on, Hawthorne continued to berate his partner and called her rude and abusive names, including “pub rat”. He also used a screwdriver to seal shut the windows of her flat to stop her leaving, locking her inside for “a couple of days”.

On another occasion, he “bullied” the woman into buying alcohol for himself and a friend. He refused to return the woman’s phone or bank card to her, and by the time she had managed to use another phone to cancel her card, she saw he had withdrawn £120.

Hawthorne was also answering charges of drug driving and driving whilst disqualified. In May, he had been recognised riding a motorcycle by an off-duty police officer who knew that he had been previously banned from driving.

In September, he was again caught driving and charged with driving otherwise in accordance with a licence, driving without appropriate insurance and driving under the influence of drugs, with a drug test having come back positive for cocaine.

Hawthorne’s arrest activated a suspended sentence imposed upon him in 2022 for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault.

He appeared before Judge Richard Kelly for sentencing on Tuesday.

For the coercive control offence, Judge Kelly sentenced Hawthorne to 21 months in custody. He activated the suspended sentence, adding a further 17 months to Hawthorne’s sentence, bringing the total to 38 months, of which he will serve half.

For drug driving and driving whilst disqualified, Judge Kelly sentenced Hawthorne to two months and four months respectively. These sentences will run concurrently to 38 months.

He also forbade Hawthorne from contacting his former partner and disqualified him from driving for two years.

Hawthorne will also pay a surcharge of £228 towards victims’ services.