A VENGEFUL company director punched, gagged and restrained his ex-partner before trying to suffocate her with a pillow.

Ian Gresham was warned by a judge he faces a ‘lengthy custodial sentence’ of up to 16 years behind bars after admitting wounding with intent.

Preston Crown Court was told how Gresham bombarded his victim Shirley Jackson with 50 emails threatening her and saying how he would take his own life because she had ended their three-year relationship.

Gresham, 55, of no fixed address but formerly of Blackburn, was issued a verbal harassment warning by police for his behaviour.

But the prosecution said he failed to take notice and his offending escalated when Ms Jackson returned from a holiday in Turkey.

At around 8.45pm on October 17, Gresham went to his victim’s home in Blackburn, and knocked on the back door.

Prosecutor Paul Brookwell said when Ms Jackson answered the door he forced his way in and punched her in the face, causing her to fall into the fridge and collapse into a dog basket.

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Gresham then put duct tape over Ms Jackson’s mouth and used it to tie her hands behind her back, turned the downstairs lights off, before instructing her to go upstairs to the bedroom.

Mr Brookwell said while the victim laid on the bed Gresham complained about her decision to end the relationship and said ‘his life was over’.

He then pulled a hammer from a rucksack he had brought with him, banged holes in the ceiling and fed a rope through to create a noose.

The court heard he went downstairs to the dining room to grab a chair and placed it under the rope.

Mr Brookwell said: “She was asking him to get help. He was effectively saying he going to hang himself in that room so she would not be able to use that particular room again.

“Then his demeanour changed and he became angry. He produced a plastic bag and put it over her head.

“She clawed at the bag and she bit him. He started to strike her with punches to her face and head.

“He then got some cloth, possibly a pillow, and rammed it into her mouth. He put other pillows on top of her.”

The court heard that at that point Ms Jackson, 60, began to lose consciousness and the next thing she remembered was Gresham tending to her with a wet cloth.

Mr Brookwell said: “He was asking ‘what have I done to you?’ and saying ‘I love you’. He reminisced about the times they were together.

“He got on the chair. He got down again and asked for some prescription drugs from her.

“She tried to plead with him. He said he was going to die. She managed to eventually persuade him to call his daughter.

“When his daughter arrived with her partner, her brother and Ms Jackson’s son-in-law, Gresham attempted to take his own life again and had to be physically supported from doing so.”

The court heard the victim, who is originally from the Midlands but moved to Blackburn to be closer to her grandchildren, suffered multiple injuries including a fractured nose, cuts and bruising to her face, a chipped tooth, and bruising to her tongue which doctors said was consistent with being asphyxiated.

While being treated at Royal Blackburn Hospital she told police: “He just kept saying ‘you have destroyed me’ and ‘I didn’t come here to hurt you’.”

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Ms Jackson, said: “My life has been taken away from me.

“I can’t live in Blackburn any longer. I moved to Blackburn to be closer to my grandchildren. As a result of the assault my relationship with them will suffer.

“I am now aged 60 and having to start life all over again. I am petrified about being in the house alone.”

Following the assault Gresham was arrested by police and told them he had been attacked by the victim and pushed her away in self-defence.

He was charged with attempted murder but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of wounding with intent.

Gresham, who has previous convictions for assault and harassment, the latter relating to his conduct after the breakdown of his 23-year marriage, was due to be sentenced yesterday but the case was adjourned for the preparation of a new pre-sentence report.

Mr Brookwell said Gresham’s case landed in the most serious sentencing category and he was facing a starting point of 12 years imprisonment, with a range of nine to 16 years.

He may also face an extended sentence if the court rules that he is a dangerous offender but Gresham will receive some credit for his guilty plea.

Adjourning the case to May 22, Judge Heather Lloyd, said: “You know that a lengthy custodial sentence is inevitable.

“It’s a question of your dangerousness which the author of the pre-sentence report needs to consider.”

Mr Brookwell said he intended to apply for a restraining order at the next hearing.