A BRADFORD man who "picked up" a woman and "flung her against furniture" has been jailed for 16 months.

David Grafton, 41, of James Street, Allerton, was sentenced to 16 months in prison for assault causing actual bodily harm and for engaging in controlling / coercive behaviour in an intimate relationship with a woman over a five-month period from May to October this year.

In a case at Bradford Crown Court, the Crown prosecutor explained Grafton and the female complainant had been in a relationship for two years.

The prosecutor said that between May 1 and October 28, Grafton repeatedly or continuously engaged in controlling or coercive behaviour by dictating what she would wear, the colour of her hair, that she would pay him £500 per month, make all the food and that she was to be submissive.

In an incident in Bradford on October 18 of this year, Grafton threatened the woman and “threw her against a door and mirror” causing injury. He “squeezed her throat for a moment” before he grabbed a knife. She then hugged him to calm him down.

In another incident at the Drum Winder pub on Ivegate, Grafton grabbed her ponytails and told the woman: “If you cheat on me, I’ll kill you."

When they went home, he continued with aggressive behaviour, calling her abusive names, and kicked her.

The prosecutor said Grafton had “multiple breaches of non-molestation orders” from previous relationships on his record and is a man who is “entrenched in exerting domestic violence”.

He has a community order against him for abusing an ex-partner.

Although Grafton’s defence solicitor said he “accepted what he had done” and had “control issues with his temper”, his mother had sadly died recently and his father was terminally ill and Grafton was “very anxious about his father”.

In handing down Grafton’s sentence, Recorder Simon Eckersley said: “You pleaded guilty to two serious allegations.

“You’re a powerful-looking male who had issues with steroid abuse and had 16 previous convictions.

Speaking about his domestic violence history, Recorder Eckersley said: “You plainly have difficulties with relationships and their breakdown.

“You shouted abuse at this victim and made serious sexual allegations against her. You didn’t stop and enforced your demands with violence.

“You picked her up and flung her against furniture.

“That controlling and aggressive behaviour will no doubt have had an impact on her.”

For the two counts and violation of a community order, Recorder Eckersley sentenced Grafton to 16 months in prison.

He also imposed a restraining order for 10 years.