Belle Isle man spat and threw coffee at his girlfriend as part of 18-month campaign of controlling behaviour

Leeds Crown Court heard how 36-year-old Lee Baldwin was prone to violent outbursts and would shout abuse at his partner.

Marte Alnaes, prosecuting, told the court that Baldwin and the woman had been in a relationship for 18 months and had a "long history of incidents".

The first took place in September 2020 when Baldwin was said to have pushed the victim into the kitchen during an argument. He then left the house but returned shortly afterwards.

Fearing for her safety, the victim locked the doors, but Baldwin threw a punch at one of the glass panels in the front door, causing it to smash. He then spat in the victim's face.

On October 21 2021, Baldwin had an argument with the victim after she said she did not want to be intimate with him. The court heard he felt "rejected" and threw a television remote at the victim, cutting her on the leg, before hurling a torrent of abusive insults at her.

The victim tried to leave the house, but Baldwin threw a cup of coffee at her and grabbed her arm. The victim then called him a "woman-beater", to which he responded: "I will show you a woman-beater".

He then grabbed her throat, before she was able to escape to safety.

On October 23, Baldwin phoned the victim and called her an insulting name, before saying he was going to her house. The victim refused to let him inside, before he threw an object at a window in an attempt to break it.

Later that same week, the victim retracted her police statement after Baldwin had told her that he was finding help for anger management.

However, the relationship between Baldwin and the victim ended the following day after a vicious argument.

After being arrested, Baldwin told the police his relationship had been "up and down", and that the arguments "went both ways".

However, once police retrieved his phone, they found 530 phonecalls had been made between the two - most of which had been made by Baldwin. There were also a number of abusive texts to the victim.

Baldwin, of Windmills Approach, Belle Isle, pleaded guilty to controlling and coercive behaviour towards his girlfriend between April 2020 and January 2022.

The court heard that despite the offending, Baldwin was once again in a relationship with the victim, who did not support the prosecution.

Probation officer Mike Cooper told the court that Baldwin "fully accepts" he has an anger managemnent problem and had been seeking therapy to help with this. He said Baldwin was currently working as a driver for a bed company.

Mitigating, Michael Devlin told the court more about Baldwin's attempts to seek therapy, adding: "He wants to demonstrate that he is taking responsibility, that he is the one in the wrong and that he does not want to do this in the future."

Sentencing Baldwin, Recorder Edward Legard said: "The bedrock to any relationship is mutual respect and mutual trust, and those in relationships must be able to feel safe in the domestic environment.

"Those who treat their partners to controlling behavious must expect to be severely punished."

After listing the details of the offending, Judge Legard added: "It is with a degree of cynicism I see you back together again. I am encouraged that you are actively seeking help."

He went on to hand Baldwin a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for two yeares, adding: "The court is taking a chance on you and if you come back, it will be immediate imprisonment."

Baldwin was then heard to say: "I appreciate that, and I won't let you down."

In addition to his suspended sentence, Baldwin was also given 150 hours of unpaid work, as well as 30 rehabilitation days.