AN angry dad held an imitation gun to his girlfriend’s head in front of their young daughter and told her he was going to kill her.

At Bolton Crown Court Ashley Haycock was spared jail by a judge who branded his behaviour “utterly disgraceful”.

Bolton Crown Court heard how 33-year-old Haycock was in a relationship with the woman but it began to go wrong in the summer of 2020 as he started taking drugs and staying out.

Justin Hayhoe, prosecuting, told the court how, on April 26 this year he asked for money to have his hair cut.

“She gave him the money but it transpired that he had spent it on other things,” said Mr Hayhoe.

At just after 10pm Haycock contacted his partner asking to be collected from an address but when she arrived with their young child she noticed that his hair had not been cut.

“She assumed the worst and that he had spent the money on other things such as alcohol or drugs,” said Mr Hayhoe.

Haycock was behaving erratically and, when they arrived home, kicked a door and hit a doorbell before slapping his partner as she held their three-year-old daughter, twisted her arm and pushed her around the house.

She was not injured but Haycock threatened to kill them all.

“He said the complainant didn’t know what he was involved in or what he was capable of,” said Mr Hayhoe.

The woman tried to calm Haycock down but when she went into the child’s bedroom, where the little girl was still awake, she found Haycock holding, what turned out to be, an imitation gun.

“He put that gun to his partner’s head and made threats to kill her,” said Mr Hayhoe, who added that Haycock then left, locking the door and drove off in the car.

The court heard that Haycock’s victim was frightened to return home and has been struggling with work and her mental health.

But Judge Tom Gilbart was told that the woman has subsequently written stating that her daughter misses her father and she wants Haycock to receive help.

Haycock, a gas engineer, of Brandforth Gardens, Westhoughton, pleaded guilty to assault and possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

The court heard that he has a previous conviction for possessing cocaine with intent to supply.

Andrew Scott, defending, appealed for Haycock not to be jailed, stressing that he has taken steps to address his problems, including abstaining from drink and drugs, and to deal with mental health problems triggered by a friend’s death and ill-health of his daughter.

“The defendant has expressed genuine remorse for his actions. He is deeply ashamed,” said Mr Scott.

Judge Gilbart sentenced Haycock, a father-of-two, to 21 months in prison, suspended for two years.

He was ordered to undertake 250 hours of unpaid work plus 25 days of rehabilitation activities and six months of mental health treatment.

He told Haycock: “This was, by any measure, an extremely serious incident.

“It is utterly incomprehensible to any parent, or any human being really, how a father could behave in this way in the presence of his young, vulnerable child.

“I am satisfied this incident was out of character against a background of real problems with your mental health.”