Violent thug who broke his girlfriend’s ankle forced her to blame the dog when calling 999

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A jealous thug brandished a knife and threatened to stab his girlfriend before pushing her down stairs, breaking her ankle.

The woman heard a crackle and felt immediate pain but he long prevented her from calling an ambulance, leaving her in pain.

When he finally agreed, he forced the victim to pretend she had run into a dog, Hull Live reports.

A court heard that he also terrorized another woman and threatened to kill her before attempting to burn the arms of two police officers with a lighter.

Matthew Harding, 31, of Mersey Road, Hull, admitted to inflicting grievous bodily harm on his ex-girlfriend on New Years Day.

He also admitted assaulting two police officers as rescue workers, causing criminal damage and using threatening words or behavior on May 15 last year.

Prosecutor Claire Holmes told Hull Crown Court that Harding met the woman on November 20 and they were living together on December 3, but he started cutting himself and blaming her.

He had been drinking when he started arguing and accused her of cheating on him.

The woman was sitting in a bedroom when he put a knife on her arm.

She downloaded a dating app and said, “If you want me to cheat, I will.”

Harding snatched his phone from him and became violent.

“He put the knife to her stomach and threatened to stab her,” Miss Holmes said.

“As she walked, he followed her with the knife behind her back. She managed to persuade him to speak. Finally, he gave her the knife and started to cry.”

But the violence continued and he pushed her down three steps with both hands.

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“She heard a crackle and felt immediate pain in her ankle,” Miss Holmes said.

The woman’s ankle was broken and she later needed a cast and crutches.

Harding kept her from alerting an ambulance for a considerable time and, when he relented, made her pretend she had tripped over a dog.

In a separate incident, Harding called a neighbor a “slag” and knocked on his door. He had already asked her for a date but she had refused.

He yelled at her on Facebook Messenger and returned to his apartment again, being abusive.

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He warned her, “If I walk into your apartment, I will kill you and kill your dog.

The woman came out of a living room window and asked a neighbor to call the police.

Four policemen arrived but he obstructed and attempted to burn the arms of two of them with a lighter.

He was sprayed with Pava spray in his eyes and dropped the lighter on the floor.

Harding had been convicted of 35 previous offenses, including eight of assault causing actual bodily harm and assaulting police.

Other convictions included fighting, possession of a knife, arson, perversion of the course of justice, and driving while under interdiction.

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Judge David Tremberg told Harding: “Your behavior has become unstable, bizarre, controlling, irrational and threatening as your behavior has deteriorated over time.

“You brandished a knife and threatened to mutilate yourself and stab your partner. You sought to control and intimidate her.

“You pushed her down a small staircase, which broke her ankle.

“It was part of an extended episode.”

David Godfrey, mitigating, said: “He recognized that his behavior needed to be corrected.

“He does well in prison. He realizes that relationships are very difficult for him.

“He is very ashamed to find himself in this position again.

“He realizes that in the future things are going to have to change.”

Harding was jailed for two years and received a three-year restraining order.

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