A MAN who subjected his girlfriend to a drunken attack has been given one more chance to stay out of jail.

Craig Berry had, on two occasions strangled and assaulted his girlfriend, Kirsty Lee Jones, with whom he'd been in a relationship for three years prior to the offences.

In February, he was given a 12-month sentence, suspended for 18 months with 250 hours of unpaid work and 35 days on a building better relationships programme.

Berry, now 38 and of Rhos Street in Ruthin, appeared at Mold Crown Court on Wednesday (November 13) having breached the order by missing an unpaid work day without authorisation. 

The court heard that Berry that failed to attend the unpaid work appointment on October 6 - having been late for the van to take him to the work appointment at a charity shop. 

Defending, Alexa Carrier, said the breach was caused by Berry's struggles with mental health - feeling "anxious and depressed", and he has been referred to the community mental health team. She said the breach was in relation to his struggles with "getting up" out of bed due to his mental state. She added that Berry is "very sorry" for the breach. 

It was Berry's second breach of the order, having appeared in court in July after similar appointments were missed. 

On that occasion, judge Rhys Rowlands said he was being given one final chance - and the suspended jail sentence wasn't activated. 

Having been recommended by the probation service to impose a financial penalty on Berry for the second breach, judge Rowlands instead chose to adjourn the case for a month.

He told the defendant: "I don't know what you think you're playing at, I don't know who you think you're in front of but I assured you on the last occasion what would happen if you misbehaved again. It looks as though you have, albeit there's some suggestion of mental health issues on your part. 

"It doesn't excuse your lying in bed not bothering to turn up for the van. Who do you think you are? You don't call the shots. You are very, very lucky not to have gone to prison for the offence of intentional strangulation, I do not understand your attitude. 

"You have the gall, through counsel, to say you're terribly sorry - you said exactly the same thing in July. If you are so much as five minutes late for an appointment, if you are lippy, it's going to be reported back to me and you will be spending Christmas in (HMP) Berwyn and several months thereafter. If you behave, it may be that I am persuaded to give you one last chance - but it would truly exceptional as I don't do that ordinarily."