A frightened woman waited for her partner to fall asleep before escaping after he put his hands around her throat in a terrifying incident.

Ryan Hope had been in a relationship with the woman for less than a month when he became abusive in October last year.

Police were called in November last year to reports the woman had been attacked, Bolton Crown Court heard.

She disclosed that a week earlier Hope had strangled her.

Bob Sastry, prosecuting, said: “He placed his hands around her throat.

“She kicked him in the testicles so she could get away.

“She waited for him to fall asleep. She says she has been a victim of domestic violence before but had never been as scared as in this incident.”

Hope, 36 and from Chorley New Road, Heaton, Bolton, appeared in court to be sentenced after pleading guilty to actual bodily harm.

The court heard he had been convicted of harassment and had been given a suspended sentence in 2022, which he had breached by this offence.

Isobel Thomas, defending, said: “He said to me ‘If I wasn’t drunk this would not have happened.

“‘I wish I could take it back but I can’t.

“There are gaps in his offending, there are periods when he has been alcohol free.”

Read more: Bolton man left with serious injuries after Chorley Old Road crash

Read more: Man on licence of sex offences jailed for robbery 

Read more: Police on scene after counterterrorism arrests

Recorder Alexandra Simmonds said: “You tried to strangle her using your hands.

“She was able to get you of her by kicking you.

“She had to wait for you to fall asleep before she could escape.

“The offence has had a significant impact on her.

“She describes never feeling as frightened as she was then.”

She jailed him for 25 months with an extra month added on for the breach of the suspended sentence.

She also imposed a restraining order, banned Hope from contacting the woman, to last indefinitely.