GARRY BLANCHARD

A domestic abuser who throttled his partner unconscious when she wouldn't give him cash for drugs dropped himself in it while asking police to help him get his belongings back.

A month had passed since Garry Blanchard attacked the woman while they were in bed over her refusal to bankroll his cocaine habit.

She had been too afraid to report his violence but when he turned up at a police station pleading for help getting his stuff back and claiming she had "gone nuts", he let slip about grabbing her neck, falsely claiming it had been in self-defence.

That sparked a welfare check on the victim and the truth about what he had done came out.

Now Blanchard has been given a suspended prison sentence after he admitted assault.

heard the victim had been in a relationship with him for around three years and it was after he moved in with her that things deteriorated.

The court heard she was the breadwinner and he would ask her for money, which put a strain on their relationship.

Joe Hedworth, prosecuting, said he was unpleasant to her at times and his mood would quickly change.

Having moved out towards the end of 2023, she said he could move back in on New Years Day 2024.

Seven days later, Blanchard went fishing and the woman, of Washington, went to work.

Later that day, they argued because he wanted money to buy drugs and she didn't want to give him any.

While they were in bed, he repeated his demand, saying he needed drugs and when she refused, he "kicked off".

Mr Hedworth said: "He got on top of her, using his body weight to hold her still then pushed her round to her front, grabbed her round the neck with one hand and started squeezing her neck.

"She said it made it feel like it was pushing everything to one side.

His thumbs were digging into her neck and she was punching the pillow frantically trying to get him off.

She then recalls waking up and he had gone." She saw him leaving her home but he then returned and warned her: "Learn to keep your gob shut, don't tell anyone and don't report it to anybody." The victim was left with bruising and an extremely sore neck and jaw and she lost her voice.

However she was too afraid to seek medical attention.

On February 9, Blanchard went to a police station and asked for help in recovering property from the woman's home.

He told officers he had grabbed her by the neck in self-defence after she "went nuts".

As a result, police carried out a welfare check on the woman and the true picture of Blanchard having assaulted her was revealed and he was arrested.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said she was left feeling scared of what he will do and struggling to sleep.

She added: "I think he is capable of killing someone and killing me.

"He is a very strong man and doesn't know his own strength.

I don't want to see him again because of how he treated me and what he is capable of." Blanchard, 54, of Coronation Street North, Murton, County Durham, who has previous convictions of battery and harassment in relation to his ex wife, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

A charge of strangulation was not proceeded with.

He was sentenced to 12 months suspended for two years and was given a restraining order.

The court heard he has sought help for his alcohol and cocaine issues and his behaviour has improved as a result of his "concerted efforts".