A woman was dragged into a car by her hair and threatened with a metal wrench.

But it was accepted by the prosecution that Lee Tudor, aged 28, had not struck her with it.

Tudor, of Hurstcroft Road, Birmingham, admitted possessing a metal bar as an offensive weapon in Edward Henry Street, Rhyl and common assault on Anne-Marie Taylor at Rhyl on July 17.

Tudor represented himself at Mold Crown Court and escaped immediate imprisonment.

Judge Niclas Parry imposed a 10-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months and placed him on rehabilitation.

He said he should follow courses including temper control.

The defendant was ordered to pay £1,000 costs and the judge made a 12-month order under which he is not to go within 100 metres of the victim’s home.

That would provide her with a bolt hole, he said.

It was an aggravating feature that a child witnessed what happened.

The defendant, he said, had dragged a woman by the hair in a public street with such force that a clump of her hair was later found on the floor.

He threatened her with a weapon but did not use it – and it was aggravated by his previous convictions.

The judge said that he had pleaded guilty when he knew that the complainant may not have been willing to give evidence against him.

There were no serious visible injuries, he had been out of trouble for five years, he was in well paid employment and he had therefore decided to suspend the sentence.

Prosecuting barrister Simon Rogers said that witnesses believed that the victim had been struck with the weapon but the prosecution had previously accepted his basis of plea that he had not.

The defendant initially denied assaulting her and claimed she had assaulted him.

Tudor represented himself and said that he earned £1,000 a week as a motorway worker.