A SERIAL thug who smashed up the home of a woman he had met online after she dumped him has finally been jailed after a judge said it was 'extraordinary' he was not already behind bars.

Besotted boyfriend Anthony Bradley, 46, reacted furiously to the rejection and threatened to visit the woman's home in Northallerton, North Yorkshire.

Terrified of what he might do, the mother-of-two fled to a friend's house to hide, Teesside Crown Court was told yesterday.

Drunken Bradley smashed his way into the property while she was away, and trashed every room - causing almost £9,000 damage.

As he travelled from Newcastle to Northallerton on the train, he bombarded the council worker with a series of rambling text messages.

In one of the messages, Bradley told her: "I could not possibly contemplate life without you. I love you forever. Tony x".

The only time the frightened 55-year-old responded was when Bradley asked: "Do you want me out your life forever?" She replied: "YES".

When Bradley arrived at her home, he smashed a window to get inside.

Prosecutor Liam O'Brien told the court he left "what can only be described as a scene of complete and utter devastation" by:

  • Smashing photo frames, plant pots and ornaments;
  • Wrecking a 42ins telly;
  • Ruining the sofa, a blind and carpets with soil;
  • Throwing a hamster cage - containing the pet - around;
  • Breaking an iPad, docking station and DVD player;
  • Damaging walls and a sideboard;
  • Bending metalwork on a light fitting; and
  • Cracking the woman's mobile telephone.

In an impact statement the victim told of her fears that Bradley would find her and try to kill her.

She wrote: "The immediate escalation of his behaviour from words to actions has left me absolutely terrified.

"He has shown me he is a nasty, abusive and manipulative person."

The court heard how he has a string of previous convictions linked to the breakdown of relationships.

Bradley, of Arnside Road, Carlisle, was jailed for two years and eight months after he admitted burglary with intent to cause criminal damage.

The court heard how the couple met on an online dating site, exchanged phone numbers and met for the first time on November 18.

The woman said within days Bradley was showing signs of what she later described to police as "controlling behaviours".

Tom Mitchell, mitigating, described the whirlwind romance as "intense" and told the court: "He has had problems with relationships in the past."

He added: "My client is heartily sorry, not just for himself, but for everyone."

Mr Mitchell told Judge Walford that Bradley had suffered with mental health problems in the past, but was stable when he took his medication and did not drink.

The court heard how he once assaulted and damaged the property of a former lover's father, and headbutted the father of a partner.

He was given a community order for bombarding an ex with phone calls and text messages, and a rehabilitation order for slitting the lip of his wife.

Judge Walford asked: "Are Carlisle magistrates empowered to pass custodial sentences?

"I wouldn't think so with these sentences. It is extraordinary with that history that he should have got a non-custodial sentence."

The judge also imposed an indefinite restraining order which forbids Bradley from contacting his victim and going within 200 yards of where she lives.