A 42-year-old man has admitted a late-night assault on his ex-girlfriend after he followed her.

Daniel James Carnochan jumped on top of his victim and put his hands around her throat but was stopped when another man intervened.

He will be sentenced on June 20 after a probation report has been completed.

Prosecuting advocate Hazel Carroon told the court 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.

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 there could have been more serious consequences.

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

He claimed that the woman 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 recently.

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 previously been bailed to live on a fishing boat, as he was a share fisherman and could not put forward another address in the island.

The advocate asked for bail to continue with the fishing boat as the residential address, saying that the skipper of the vessel was in court.

Ms Carroon opposed bail saying that Carnochan had failed to appear in court twice and one of his scheduled appearances was three years ago.

Magistrates refused bail and remanded Carnochan, whose last known address in the island was St Paul’s Square in Ramsey, in custody.