A man who thought his girlfriend was cheating on him and threatened her with a ‘gun’ before ramming her car has been jailed.

Connor Gilbertson, 28, thought his then-partner was cheating on him and sent her threats, saying he would shoot her or burn her parents’ house down.

Gilbertson, of Dale Street, Bacup, appeared in Preston Crown Court on Monday, May 22, having pleaded guilty to careless driving, destroying property, possession of an offensive weapon with intent of causing fear or violence, and sending malicious communications.

Prosecuting, Katherine Wright said on October 30, Gilbertson and his partner at the time were both out when sending each other messages, both of them thinking they were being cheated on.

Gilbertson started threatening the woman, sending Snapchat images of a gun, saying he would shoot her and he would burn her parents’ house down, telling her he was on his way to her house.

The woman came home and saw Gilbertson in her driveway.

Ms Wright said: “He walked to the passenger side window of her car with the firearm.

“She got out in fear.

“He got back into his car and rammed into her vehicle.

“She managed to get her car onto the driveway but he drove up to her car again, but he was not able to cause damage this time as she was in front of it.”

He then left her house but came back later for a short time before leaving again.

When arrested, Gilbertson was asked about the gun, which was discovered to be an air pistol, however the officer remarked it looked very much like a real gun.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said she never thought Gilbertson was capable of what he did and she never wants to see him again.

The woman also said she struggles to sleep and is terrified about what Gilbertson could do to her.

As a result of the damage, the woman has also had to pay more than £5,000 to replace her car.

Mitigating, Mark Stuart said Gilbertson had already spent nearly seven months behind bars on remand and he has been addressing his mental health during that time.

Gilbertson also had a number of letters of support penned on his behalf to the judge, as well as writing a letter himself explaining his actions.

Mr Stuart also said the defendant described his behaviour as ‘disgraceful’ but, claimed his drink was spiked on the night and cannot recall what happened.

However, this excuse was not accepted by Recorder Andrew Nuttall.

Recorder Nuttall said: “In every sense of the word, you attacked your partner.

“You did this in a number of ways – you sent her threatening and extremely unpleasant messages, you sent photos of a gun, you said you were on the way to her house.

“It’s difficult to conceive how frightening and unpleasant that incident was.”

Gilbertson was jailed for 20 months, banned from driving for nine months and handed a five year restraining order.