A THUG who grabbed his ex-girlfriend by the throat before he headbutted the police officer who came to arrest him has been jailed.

Richard Gill, 36, of High Street, Blaina, assaulted his victims after downing a bottle of rum.

Prosecutor Abigail Jackson said the defendant is a man with a history of domestic violence previously jailed for the harassment of the woman.

Gill has racked up 35 previous convictions for 62 offences, including causing actual bodily harm and battery.

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His latest offending stemmed from an incident on April 30, 2020 after his former partner went to live with him when she became homeless.

Miss Jackson told Cardiff Crown Court how Gill was subject to a restraining order at the time preventing him from having any contact with her.

The prosecutor said: “At around 9.30pm, the defendant, who had drunk a bottle of rum, telephoned her to say he wanted her out of his property.

“Five minutes later he arrived and was slurring his words. He started to smash things up with a baseball bat.

“He was aggressive to the victim and she fell back into a table.

“The defendant then put his hand around her throat for a couple of seconds. She said she struggled to breathe.”

Gill then assaulted a teenage girl who was in his house before both his victims fled.

The police were called and found the defendant at home sleeping off the effects of his drinking binge.

As he was being arrested, he lashed out and headbutted one of the officers.

Gill admitted breaching a restraining order, assaulting an emergency worker and two counts of assault by beating.

Jeffrey Jones, mitigating, asked for the court to take into account his client’s guilty pleas.

He added: “The defendant had provided a roof over her head. He does show remorse and empathy for his victims.”

Mr Jones said Gill was hoping to set up a landscape gardening business.

The judge, Recorder Timothy Brennan QC, told Gill his ex-girlfriend must have been “terrified”.

He said: “You have a poor record for offences of violence. These offences were aggravated by the fact you were drunk and were the subject of post release supervision.”

Gill was jailed for 32 weeks.