“IF I can’t have you, no one can,” said a man jailed for strangling his ex-partner, punching her, and attempting to lock her in the bathroom.

John Gallagher, 50, has been jailed for nine months after a hearing at Reading Crown Court on Monday (July 31) heard he assaulted his ex-partner in 2021.

The incident happened in Reading on May 31 as the couple’s eight-year relationship was ending, the court heard.

READ MORE: In the Dock: Man steals Ninja Blender and Shark anti-hair hoover in court

Summarising the case, Judge Emma Nott said: “It was a concerning incident during the course of the night. It happened when you were very drunk and it was a sustained incident of strangulation.

“It coincided with the end of your eight-year relationship with your victim – an ending that you hadn’t come to terms with.

“You had your hand around her throat for a significant period of time. You punched in her in the head several times.

“She was screaming at you to get off. You were screaming at her ‘if you cant have her, no one would’, and while you were strangling her she was terrified that that was it and she was going to die.

“Your neighbour heard some of it going on, he heard a guttural sound that upset him at the time.”

READ MORE: Woman found GUILTY of causing 'unnecessary suffering' to two dogs

Judge Nott explained that the victim managed to leave the bedroom and attempt to find comfort in the spare room but Gallagher followed and strangled her again.

She then hid in the bathroom overnight while Gallagher went to sleep. When she left, she found he had placed a kitchen chair under the doorhandle in attempts to keep her locked in but to no avail.

Judge Nott concluded: “This was a very serious incident indeed.”

Gallagher was subsequently arrested and charged with one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

A victim impact statement read out to court heard that the victim worries that she will not be able to trust another man again, ‘particularly as this incident happened after such a long relationship’.

Defending Gallagher, his barrister said he has been taking steps to work on his alcohol consumption and that he as no issues with a restraining order being implemented between him and the victim, including her address.

READ MORE: JAILED OR GUILTY: Criminals convicted in court this week

Before sentencing, Judge Nott said a pre-sentence report concluded Gallagher felt no remorse for the incident.

Gallagher, of Kennet Walk, Reading, was sentenced to a nine-month prison sentence. He will serve half in custody before being released on licence.