AN ex-drug addict threatened to slit his teenage partner's throat before attacking her, a court was told.

Possessive Anthony Callander, 37, had bombarded Annie Wilson with threatening and abusive text messages as she was on a night out with friends, Burnley Crown Court heard.

He then turned up in Accrington town centre in a taxi and hit her in the face, bursting her lip. Callander went on to run towards a man standing with a friend of Miss Wilson's and struck him in the face, knocking him to the ground.

Callander, of Richmond Hill Street, Accrington, had admitted putting a person in fear of violence and two counts of common assault in January and had been committed for sentence by Hyndburn Magistrates.

He was given a year in jail, suspended for two years, with 12 months supervision and was made subject to a restraining order banning him going near the victim.

Mohammed Nawaz, prosecuting, told the court Miss Wilson, 19, had been in a relationship with the defendant for about two years and said the last 12 months had been volatile.

Miss Wilson went out for the evening and after receiving numerous text messages, switched off her mobile phone. She decided to go home and when she put her phone back on the defendant had called several times, left messages, wanted to know where she was and said he was coming to get her in a taxi.

The defendant threatened to snap Miss Wilson's jaw and to slit her throat.

Karl Berry, defending, said Callander was not acting out of malice, but out of a misplaced sense of over - protectiveness.