A woman feared she might die when her ex attacked her.

Defendant Jacob Poole held her by the throat and she could not breathe.

The victim fell unconscious, Mold Crown Court was told today (wed). When she came around and asked for an ambulance, he told her she was just being a drama Queen.

Poole, 26, of Victoria Road in Prestatyn, admitted a GBH charge and was branded a coward by the judge.

But he escaped immediate custody. The judge, Mr Recorder Gregg Bull QC gave him a 12 month sentence suspended for 18 months.

He was sent on a probation course called “building better relationships” and he was ordered to carry out 120 hours unpaid work.

Poole was also hit in his pocket and was ordered to pay £1,000 compensation to his victim, £1,200 prosecution costs and a £140 surcharge.

A restraining order was not applied because there were hopes of a reconciliation, the court heard.

Prosecuting barrister Matthew Curtis said that the couple had been in a 12 month relationship which ended in June of last year but they had continued to speak to each other.

On August 12 she had been out, got a taxi to his home in the early hours and when she received a text from him saying “come over and I will smash your head in” she did not regard it as a genuine threat.

She got out of the taxi, he was said to have spat at her and said he would wait for the taxi to leave before smashing her head in.

When the vehicle left, he grabbed her around the throat for about a minute and she was struggling to breathe.

He threw her handbag away and took hold of her by the neck a second time and applied pressure.

The defendant dragged her by the throat and held her against a fence – holding her off her feet for several minutes.

She thought she was going to pass out, the prosecutor explained.

The victim could see a look of anger in his face and asked him “are you going to kill me?”

He let her go, she slumped forward and it was alleged he grabbed her hair and pushed her against a wall.

As he pulled her up to a standing position, she lost consciousness.

She was lying on the floor and when she regained consciousness she could feel blood coming from her head, said Mr Curtis.

When asked to get an ambulance, he called her a drama Queen, and said if she went inside he would sort her out because he was a first aider.

But she was able to run out into the road and flag down a passing car to get help. While she was being assisted he approached and held her in a bear hug and tried to pull her away, saying “come on, don’t be like this.”

He left before the police arrived. Interviewed, he said that he had been out with friends, had eight or nine pints, but said she had fallen which accounted for the injuries.

He denied holding her by the neck or pushing her against a wall. She was left with grazes to her legs, bruising and reddening to her throat and had a three inch laceration to top of her head which was glued.

The victim also had an eye problem but it could not definitely be said to have been as a result of the incident. In a victim impact statement she said she had lost confidence, had suffered pain and headaches and she had to take time off work.

She recalled asking paramedics on the night if she was going to die. Poole, who had no previous convictions, did not accept that he had deliberately pushed her into the wall, said defending barrister Sarah Yates.

It was completely out of character. The relationship had been on and off for some time.

It was accepted that the assault was serious and unpleasant, he was remorseful and ashamed, and appreciated the serious position he had put himself in.

He was in full time employment working 50 hours a week and had dedicated his life to building up his role in his parents’ company, which he was taking over.

Mr Recorder Bull said that it was a violent attack upon his former girlfriend. “Men who take such actions are cowards,” he said.

It was a sustained attack in drink when he held her by the throat and she thought she might die.