Thug's chilling five-word threat to woman who he strangled after night out

A thug threatened a woman before strangling her during a "terrifying" confrontation in her own home.

Paul Ashurst, 37, twice warned the woman he had only met that night "I could snap your neck" before carrying out the vile offence. A court heard Ashurst met the woman at a pub, where she had been with her partner, but she left with Ashurst after she'd had a row with her spouse.

The defendant tried to kiss her at her home but she pushed him away. Ashurst told the woman: "I could snap your neck" and she was left frightened, but she did not want to show it, according to prosecutors.

Amber Hobson, prosecuting at Hull Crown Court, said Ashurst repeated the threat as the woman rang her partner. He strangled her but she "clawed at his eyes and nose" – causing an injury.

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Ashurst admitted intentional strangulation at the hearing this week. Judge John Thackray KC sentenced the man to an 18-month suspended prison sentence and 150 hours' unpaid work. He was given a five-year restraining order, reports Hull Live.

The judge was told Ashurst, of Southcoates, Hull, had previous convictions, including two offences of assault in July this year, when he was given 90-day alcohol monitoring order and 15 days' rehabilitation, and assaulting a police constable as an emergency worker on August 7, when he was fined £200.

But the defendant still dodged a prison term for this offence, which only stopped after the woman fought him away. She also screamed for help from one of her neighbours during the ordeal on August 27, 2023, the court was told.

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Oliver Shipley, defending, said the offence involving the woman happened while Ashurst was on a night out. He told the court: "They were not known to each other. They were all out."

Ashurst was now sorting out an alcohol problem and he was on an alcohol monitoring tag. His lawyer continued: "He has not been in trouble for some time. He is doing well currently."

This case mirrors that of Cavan Hughes, a thug from Accrington, Lancashire, who strangled his partner after subjecting her to months of violence. Hughes was jailed in June at Preston Crown Court, which heard he left his partner in "a deeply unhealthy place, both mentally and physically". His victim told us: "Though our relationship lasted only a couple of months, even in that short time, he systematically eroded my self-worth, shattered my trust, and stole my joy. Simple pleasures disappeared, replaced by emptiness and dread."