A woman who was harassed by her ex-partner has described feeling terrified at the sight of him.

Ciaran Kaighin, of Glen Elfin Road,admitted harassing the woman as well as using his skateboard to smash a window of her new partner’s car after trying to headbutt him.

Magistrates sentenced the 21-year-old to do 50 hours’ unpaid work after he pleaded guilty to affray, conduct amounting to harassment, and damaging property.

He had previously denied the harassment charge but changed his plea on Thursday, the day before a trial was due to start.

Prosecuting advocate Barry Swain told the court how Kaighin had been issued with a police information notice (PIN) in July due to allegations of unwanted and persistent contact in relation to his ex-girlfriend. However, on October 8, the woman and her new partner were driving to an address at Tynwald Street in Douglas when they saw Kaighin sitting on a wall.

The woman said she felt ’terrified’ and ’panicked’ when she saw him.

He then began following the car on his skateboard before going off in another direction.

The man parked his car in the Bottleneck car park but then encountered Kaighin as he was walking in Regent Street. Kaighin followed him and shouted: ’If you’d not got involved it wouldn’t have escalated to this.’

He was then said to have poked the man in the chest and tried to headbutt him but was put on the ground before another man intervened.

Smashed

Kaighin told the man as he left: ’You’re a dead man,’ as he ran his thumb across his throat.

When the man went back to his car later at the Bottleneck car park he found the windows smashed.

CCTV footage later showed Kaighin smash the windows with his skateboard.

Mr Swain said the incidents had stemmed from Kaighin wanting contact with his child.

A probation report said that he worked as a joiner’s assistant by day and kitchen porter by night.

Kaighin entered a basis of plea in which he said when he was sitting on the wall he had not realised his ex-partner would see him but admitted that, as she did, it could have caused her harassment.

Advocate Kate Alexander asked for credit to be given for her client’s guilty pleas and said: ’Mr Kaighin doesn’t have anything like this on his record and has learnt a very difficult lesson.

’We would ask the court to bear in mind the incidents all occurred on one day.’

Magistrates also ordered Kaighin to pay £200 costs which he will pay at a rate of £150 per month.