A man who pushed his girlfriend and choked her until she could not breathe has avoided jail.

Mitchell Mahood later attacked the same woman when she was seven months pregnant.

The 28-year-old of Dogridge, Purton, describes his anger as being ‘like a switch’ and attacked his then-girlfriend on two separate occasions.

Mahood was sentenced at Swindon Crown Court on April 25 for one count of intentional strangulation and one count of assault by battery.

The first time, he strangled her until she could not breathe because the internet had been cut off.

Prosecutor, Leanne Woodman, described how, on December 1, 2022, he had chased her around the flat and said: “I have to hold you down to stop you from hitting me.”

He then pinned her down and placed his hand on her neck, holding it there ‘until she felt dizzy’ as he screamed in her face.

There was a young child present in the house. Mahood admits he has a temper ‘like a switch’.

On August 11, 2023, Mahood assaulted his girlfriend while she was seven months pregnant.

The argument started at around 9am when Mr Mitchell was refusing to leave his now ex-girlfriend’s house.

He then picked her up, spun her in the air and threw her onto the bed before police arrived and Mahood continued shouting despite the police being at the doorway. 

Police managed to remove him and he began to calm down outside, where the girlfriend asked that police take his keys.

Mahoud is reported to have earlier said: “She swings like a man. She should not be underestimated.”

He admitted he had been drinking and his response was disproportionate.

Ms Woodman added that he has 16 previous convictions, the most recent being when he assaulted an ex-girlfriend’s new partner in a McDonald’s.

He has also previously placed his hand on an ex-partner’s mouth and grabbed a shopworker by the throat.

Mahood represented himself in court.

He said: “If I get sent to prison I will lose my job. I will lose my living accommodation.

“I am trying to find my own place to give my life some control.”

He said he was contacting mental health support services.

Mahood was given a 12-month suspended sentence for the intentional strangulation and a one-month suspended sentence for the assault.

These are to be served concurrently giving a total of a 12-month suspended sentence.

He must join the Building Better Relationships programme. No restraining order was imposed.