A DAD-OF-THREE has been jailed for breaking a restraining order just two days after it was made.

Christopher Lesley, 34, was handed the order to keep him away from his ex, Tracey Walters, by Swindon Magistrates' Court on April 26. She is convinced that her former partner will kill her if he gets the chance.

The court imposed the order after hearing how Lesley was reported to the Domestic Violence unit at Swindon police 37 times during his six-year relationship with Ms Walters, who lives in Moredon.

Lesley, who now lives with his mother in Tapworth, also attacked Ms Walters' new partner.

Prosecuting, Nicki Wootton said Lesley had repeatedly ignored the court order made following a conviction for harassment between December last year and January this year.

Her next door neighbour told Tracey that she had started to receive telephone calls from this defendant requesting that she go into the back garden and get the eldest daughter so that he could speak to her."

The couple have three children, a son and two girls.

The court heard how, after Lesley broke the order, Ms Walters told police "It doesn't matter what anybody does, he is still winning. If he gets hold of me, he will kill me, I know he will."

Defending, Lee Mott said his client, who has previous convictions for dishonest offences, had wanted to speak to the children, not Ms Walters.

He said: "The driving force behind the whole issue is the fact that Mr Lesley has trouble articulating himself.

"He does not read and has trouble writing. What he was trying to establish was a line of contact if there was an emergency with the children.

"He was concerned after not having seen his children for some time.

"That's what he was trying to do in a remarkably clumsy way."

District judge Simon Cooper sentenced Lesley, who admitted the offence, to two months in prison for the breach and activated a suspended sentence of five and a half months, given at the time of the order, making a total of seven and a half months behind bars.

District Judge Cooper told him: "Within two days you have breached the order in an obvious way.

"In my view this matter is so serious any custodial sentence can be passed for it due to the nature of the breach and due to the fact that you placed Tracey Walters in fear."