Ryan Pickering went to her house armed with an axe

Ryan Pickering, 30, who sometimes needs to use a wheelchair following a car crash which damaged his leg, had been in a relationship with the victim for around five months.

Preston Crown Court heard how on March 24, the victim had been due to go on a night out with her friend, but instead they decided to stay in and watch TV.

Pickering had asked her to text him so he knew what she was doing, and she did.

Ryan Pickering (Image: Lancs Police)

Prosecuting, Paul Cummings said: “Her and her friend fell asleep on the sofa but were woken up around 11pm by the sound of banging on the window.

“She couldn’t see anyone outside but then received a call on her phone from the defendant who told her her front door had been axed and for her to go out the back as he was ‘going to teach her a lesson’.

“She decided to ignore him and later went to the kitchen with her friend and let the dog out, but decided to stay in the doorway in case Pickering was there with an axe.

“A few moments later she saw a figure walking past the front window.

“It was the defendant and he was carrying a carrier bag and appeared to wave over to her in a friendly gesture.

“Accepting of this she went to the front door and called him over but as he approached she could see he had an axe in his hand, which was about the size of a hammer and had a crowbar on the opposite end.”

Mr Cummings said Pickering tried to barge his way through the front door but she closed it on his foot, but couldn’t get it fully shut.

Pickering told her that was his “numb foot and he couldn’t feel anything” before shoving the door open and pushing her onto the stairs.

Mr Cummings continued: “He tried to hit her in the head with the axe and she grabbed it with her hand and her hair became wrapped around it.

“Her friend was screaming for him to stop.

“She eventually let go and ran across the room.

“But then, just as abruptly as he started, Pickering’s behaviour immediately changed and he began to calm down.

“She was too scared to ask him to leave so he stayed in the house overnight and her friend left around 2am.

“The following morning another incident occurred and that was the end of the relationship.”

Pickering, of Regent Street, Nelson, pleaded guilty to affray.

He has previous convictions for the same offence and has spent time in prison.

He also has one for dangerous driving in 2022 for which he received a suspended sentence he had not long completed before the commission of this offence.

Mitigating, Martin Hackett said his client had spent 105 days on electronic curfew and asked for that time to be taken off any sentence that was likely to be imposed.

Sentencing, Recorder Ayesha Siddiqi said: “She was pleading with you to stop and you said, ‘why should I?’

“There was a further incident in the morning, but you are not being sentenced for that today.

“She must’ve been terrified when you came into her house wielding an axe.

“You have a lengthy history of previous convictions and are a persistent offender.”

Pickering was given 12 months in prison less the time spent on curfew and a five-year restraining order.