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An abuser with a long history of violent and controlling behaviour told his partner to "drown in the bath" before charging at her with a knife.
Wayne Burford erupted in rage at the woman's home, just hours after he had relentlessly messaged her to "prove" to him she was at the hospital with a friend, and then to express his anger she had later gone to the cinema without him.
Canterbury Crown Court heard that her efforts to calm him down on her return included texting him from her car, suggesting a dog walk and then later that day they shared a bath.
But instead of being appeased, the 44-year-old subjected his victim to what a judge described as a "frightening, angry and aggressive" assault.
Faced with him running at her with a kitchen knife, the woman sought refuge in her bathroom and shut the door, using her body weight to try and keep it closed.
But Burford forced it open, ramming it against her face and body and into a boiler cupboard, leaving her with bruising and swelling.
It was not the first time she had suffered at his hands either, the court was told.
The couple's on-off relationship was one "marred by violence", said prosecutor Eleanor Scott-Davies, and led to Burford notching up several convictions over the years for crimes committed against his lover.
These included three of common assault, as well as threatening to damage property, sending a malicious communication and engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour.
Burford also breached a restraining order on six occasions but two years after its imposition, the victim succeeded in her request for it to be lifted due to the fact she wanted to resume their relationship.
However, it again turned sour, culminating with the attack and threats on October 9 last year.
The previous day the victim had been to hospital with a friend, only for Burford to be "very upset" and wanting her to phone him to prove where she was, said Ms Scott-Davies.
Burford, the court heard, was still "in a mood, being short and snappy, and trying to create an atmosphere" when she picked him up from work.
He then pestered her continuously with calls and messages after she went out to see a film.
"He was angry she had gone to the cinema without him and began questioning her about what she was doing and who she was with," explained the prosecutor.
Burford also accused his partner of "putting things in his head" and telling lies.
The next evening on her return from work, Burford began to make threats and ignored her attempts to pacify him.
"He continued with his controlling and demanding questions. She was asking him to calm down," Ms Scott-Davies told the court.
"She said she was going to have a bath and tried to de-escalate the argument by suggesting they take a bath together.
"But he became very angry and followed her to her bathroom shouting 'This is what you do. You get in my head. I hope you f***ing drown in it!'
"He became increasingly aggressive and it escalated to a point where he ran to the kitchen, took a large kitchen knife and then ran towards her from the kitchen to the bathroom.
"She managed to close the door and put her full body weight behind it. She tried to lock the door but the defendant pushed as hard and as violently as he could.
"The door was pushed open and he was still holding the knife. The door hit her in the face and body and he was trying to get his hand through (the gap) to hit her."
The court heard the woman had already been able to message a friend on Instagram to alert police but before officers arrived Burford suddenly relented in his bid to get to her.
But when she opened the door and told him she did not understand why he was so angry, he accusingly retorted: "You, you, you!"
The labourer then began to pack his bags, only to flee when police turned up.
Burford, of Foord Road South, Folkestone, was however subsequently arrested and later admitted assault causing actual bodily harm and threatening with an offensive weapon in a private place.
Charges of threatening to destroy property and making a threat to kill, which he denied, were left on the court file.
In a victim impact statement read to the court during his sentencing hearing on Wednesday (January 29), the woman said her life had been "absolutely ruined" by her former partner.
Her ordeal that night was, she added: "something I don't think my brain will ever be able to comprehend".
She also described how her personal life had invaded her professional one when work colleagues learnt of what had happened.
"This has just been horrible and not something I can get over overnight," she explained. "I feel fearful and anxious all the time, worrying about repercussions from him.
"I just worry I will never feel happy in another relationship now. This has just destroyed my head....This wasn't love."
The court heard there had been contact between the pair since the incident but simply in relation to him signing over ownership of their dog.
James Harrison, defending, said the relationship was "clearly not a healthy one" and "one with unresolved issues".
However, he told the court Burford was a hard-working man and father, who suffered from PTSD and ADHD and while in custody had completed a number of qualifications and gained a job as an orderly assisting new inmates.
Urging that his release date could be set "too far in the distant future", Mr Harrison said: "He is seeking to improve himself and is not idle.
"These are two adults, this chapter in their life now ended."
Burford was jailed for a total of two years and three months and given a 10-year restraining order.
Passing sentence, Judge Sarah Counsell said the couple's relationship had been "beset by violence and controlling behaviour" on Burford's part.
Referring to his previous convictions, some of which related to victims other than his former girlfriend, the judge told him: "It's apparent you resort to violence when you are in conflict.
"On the evening in question you were angry, you were aggressive, you were frightening.
"You were so frightening that the actions of your partner were to text you from the car to see whether you had calmed down and to try to calm you down.
"She also made efforts to try and calm the situation down, for example by suggesting having a bath together.
"All of this was her trying to control your behaviour so you weren't violent towards her.
"You lost it, you were threatening her and threatening to smash up her property....You threatened to drown her in the bath, you grabbed a kitchen knife and you ran towards her with it.
"She sought safety in the bathroom. You forced the door....You were trying to hit her.
"She experienced fear and this has had an impact on her as part of a long, angry and violent assault."
Judge Counsell said she accepted Burford had acted "impulsively" but added his mental health issues did not lessen his culpability.
Having banned him from contacting his ex-girlfriend and going to her home for the next decade, she concluded the restriction had been imposed "in the hope you can put this relationship behind you and to prevent you offending again".