A drunken man upped the ante on three visits to his partner’s home.

Blackburn magistrates heard on the first occasion Nicky John McPhee banged on the window at 5.40am and then left. He returned at 7am and this time smashed a window. When he came back at 8.20am he used a hammer to cause nearly £1,000 worth of damage to her car.

McPhee, 29, of Fielding Crescent, Blackburn, admitted to two charges of criminal damage. He was given an eight-week suspended prison term with £85 costs.

Bilal Saeed, prosecuting, said McPhee had been made subject to a community order for an offence of criminal damage in September.

Jonathan Taylor, defending, said his client accepted he had let himself down very badly.

“He had been drinking and taking drugs and has very little recollection of the incident,” said Mr Taylor. “This was a jealous reaction to contact through social media between his partner and another man.”

He said McPhee had a problem with binge drinking and when he drank to excess his resistance to drugs was reduced and he took cocaine.

“This has been the wake-up call he needed,” said Mr Taylor. “He hopes the relationship will resume in the future but that will depend very much on his behaviour.”