A MAN who has harassed a former girlfriend for ten years launched an appeal against the length of his jail term only for it to be made longer.

David Waite was challenging the 48 week sentence magistrates imposed for three breaches of a restraining order over a two months period.

But after challenging it at Swindon Crown Court Judge Tim Mousley QC, sitting with two justices, gave the 40-year-old a 50 week jail term.

Grace Flynn, for the Crown, said in October last year he was convicted of harassing his ex and was put on a two year restraining order.

In January this year he was back before the justices having breached it but was spared a jail term.

However on May 21, June 21 and then July 21 he contacted her online by Facebook Messenger.

She said the first two messages, though breaches of the order, were not threatening but the third contained a series of abusive comments.

He made numerous threats to her and her family saying he would slit their throats and also made reference to her newborn child.

In a victim personal statement the woman told how she had become used to the harassment but was becoming increasingly concerned by it.

She said "I have had threatening messages over the last ten year from David which more recently have included abusive messages towards my daughter."

Waite, of Dulverton Avenue, Park North, pleaded guilty to three counts of breaching a restraining order.

Miss Flynn said that he has convictions going back to his teenage years and was first put on a restraining order banning him from contacting his ex in 2008.

She said that was imposed after he plagued her with abusive messages for six months and the following years he breached a community order for malicious communication.

The conviction for harassment a year ago was for online messages where he was also threatening to slit her throat.

Emma Handslip, defending, said that he had been put on consecutive sentences of 10 weeks, 12 weeks and 26 weeks for the offences.

She said the appeal was against the total length of sentence pointing out the first two matters were not threatening and probation recommended a suspended sentence.

Although he had been more abusive last year and in the last communication he would never carry out what he was saying.

Passing sentence Judge Tim Mousley QC said "We have to sentence you for what was a persistent course of offending which has given rise to a number of breaches of court orders over the years and we have come to the conclusion that immediate custody in unavoidable.

"We look at the nature of your offending, the history of your offending and the history of breaches of court orders."

They passed jail terms of six weeks, 12 weeks and 26 weeks for the three offences and added on six weeks to replace the community order he was put on in January.

The restraining order was also extended by five years to run until October 2023.