A 42-year-old man who followed his ex-girlfriend late at night, then assaulted her, was this week jailed for four months.

Darren James Carnochan jumped on top of the woman and put his hands around her throat, but was stopped when another man intervened.

Carnochan left the island after the assault and didn’t return for more than two years.

We previously reported that the victim was walking to a friend’s house at 1.30am in Peel on September 1 in 2020.

She said that she heard footsteps behind her so she started walking in the middle of the road and trying to stay in the light.

As she continued the walk, she said that she could hear someone following her so she turned and said ‘is it you?’ as she suspected it may be Carnochan, her ex-boyfriend.

He then approached her and verbally abused her, saying he knew where she was going.

Carnochan continued to follow her and at Lake Lane, then asked her where she was going.

The victim told him she was going to a friend’s house, but he then swore and said: ‘You’re a liar’, and slapped her on the side of the face.

Carnochan then jumped on top of the woman and began strangling her with both hands until another male who was out walking intervened and told him to get off the woman.

The woman said that if the other man hadn’t come along, she feared she might have been killed.

Carnochan was later arrested and when interviewed by police, denied that the incident had occurred.

He claimed that his ex had made up the story to get him into trouble.

However, in court he pleaded guilty to common assault.

The offence had taken so long to come to court because Carnochan had been granted bail after his initial court appearance but had then left the island and not returned until January 2023.

The court heard that Carnochan was fined in 2016 by a court in Stranraer after a domestic incident there, which involved an assault on another partner.

Defence advocate Ian Kermode said that his client had left the island because his mother in Scotland was ill.

Mr Kermode said that Carnochan had a job on a fishing boat as the right hand man to the skipper, and the boat could not operate without him.

The advocate said of the offence and his client absconding: ‘There are no excuses and he feels ashamed.

‘It was his decision to face the music. He contacted the police and they came and arrested him.’

A probation report assessed Carnochan as a medium risk of reoffending and of harm to others.

The report recommended a two-year period of probation as an appropriate sentence.

Mr Kermode asked for credit to be given for his client’s guilty plea and said that the assault had been a spontaneous act.

He also said that Carnochan had spent four weeks on remand at the prison.

High Bailiff Jayne Hughes told the defendant that she had concerns over the likelihood of him complying with any probation order, given his failure to attend court in the past.

She told Carnochan: ‘I accept you felt horrible about what happened to the victim, but what happened to her was entirely down to your actions.

‘Your time spent at large doesn’t suggest remorse. Your actions meant the complainant was kept waiting.

‘This was a domestic incident although it happened in the street.

‘I accept there was no premeditation but you followed her and caused her to fear for her safety.

‘The incident only stopped because of the intervention of a neighbour.’

No order for prosecution costs or compensation was made in light of the immediate custodial sentence.