A Brandon man who admitted controlling and coercive behaviour towards his former partner has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Before Ipswich Crown Court was 32-year-old Gary Marriott of Riverside Way, Brandon, who admitted controlling and coercive behaviour, battery and having a bladed article.

He was given a two-year jail sentence suspended for two years and ordered to do 100 hours' unpaid work.

He was also given a 120-day alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement and ordered to attend a Building Better Relationships programme.

He was also banned from contacting his former partner or going to her home in Woodlands Rose, Brandon, indefinitely.

Sentencing him, Judge Emma Peters said she felt able to pass a suspended prison sentence because Marriott had got himself off cocaine and was no longer dependent on alcohol.

She said he was in work, his current partner was pregnant and he hadn’t reoffended since his arrest for the offences before the court.

Judge Peters said she was taking a chance by passing a suspended sentence on Marriott and warned him that if he breached the order he would be brought back to court and could be jailed.