A St. Clears man who controlled his partner to the extent of refusing to let her have keys to their home has been jailed for 12 months.

Liam Jenkins-Dyson, 28, smashed mobile telephones belonging to Jessica Dicks to prevent her from speaking to other people, demanded to know all her social media passwords and threatened to kill anyone she became friendly with.

Jenkins-Dyson, of Clos Griffith Jones, ordered the 21-year-old mother of two to cut ties with her own family as his ‘controlling and possessive behaviour’ spiralled out of control.

Stephen Rees, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court the offending culminated on August 4 when Miss Dicks telephoned her mother, Sandra Dicks, to warn her Jenkins-Dyson was ‘kicking off again.’

When she arrived from her home nearby, Jenkins-Dyson threatened to kill her and to set fire to the house ‘with the kids still inside.’

Jenkins-Dyson left, armed with a pruning saw, and when police caught up with him near the local leisure centre, he asked them to shoot him dead. He also threatened to cut his own throat with the saw.

Mr. Rees said after a lengthy ‘stand-off’, police shot him with a rubber bullet and arrested him.

It was then discovered that he had indeed injured his neck with the saw.

Judge Geraint Walters said he accepted ‘without a shadow of a doubt’ that Jenkins-Dyson had psychiatric issues, but one step he could take would be to control the amount of alcohol and drugs he consumed.

“Until you confront those issues, you are likely to lash out at those closest to you,” he added.

Jenkins-Dyson admitted coercion, assaulting Sandra Dicks, possessing an article with a blade in a public place and possessing a small amount of cannabis.

Jenkins-Dyson was jailed for 12 months, but Judge Walters said he would be on licence from prison for an additional 12 months after his release.