A MAN who was banned from seeing his girlfriend after leaving her blind in one eye was caught with her two weeks after he was released from prison.

Paul O’Sullivan, now of Broad Street, had just been freed from a 14-month jail term for assaulting Karen Waldron when they were spotted together in breach of a restraining order.

And despite being put on a suspended sentence, the pair continued to see each other and have now succeeded in getting the order altered so they can have lawful contact.

The 47-year-old was jailed in January last year after he admitted actual bodily harm and threatening behaviour.

As well as the jail term, a judge imposed a restraining order prohibiting him from having any sort of contact with the victim.

O’Sullivan was released from prison on September 20 after serving the whole sentence behind bars, but on October 3 the couple were spotted together by the police.

Now the case has come back before the crown court where Ms Waldron has asked for the restraining order to be altered to allow them to see each other.

She said she had been seeing him twice a week “on and off” since his release adding “there’s been no violence though”.

O’Sullivan added “All I want to do is be able to walk down the road together without looking over my shoulder thinking I am going to get nicked.”

He said neither of them had been aware of the restraining order when he was arrested last year.

Judge Euan Ambrose told Ms Waldron: “The order is there to protect you. Sometimes the courts have to say ‘well it is all very interesting what you say about this, although you are asking I have to say ‘no’ because I have to protect you’.

“Sometimes the court does that: they do it when people are really unable to look after their own interests.

“You are an adult and are able to make decisions for yourself. What you are asking me to do is to allow you to continue something that has been going on, really, for the best part of a year.”

He changed the order telling O’Sullivan he was not go to within 200 metres of Ms Waldron’s home, in Brunswick Court, Corporation Street.

O’Sullivan was in a frenzied epileptic episode brought on by booze when he launched the attack on Ms Waldron, which left her blind in one eye.

Six weeks later he was caught shouting abuse at her as he hammered on the door of her home.