A THUG who locked his ex in the flat they shared until the swelling to her face from his assault went down will not serve any extra jail time.

Then 22-year-old Callum Foster was jailed for four years and eight months in 2020 after he held an Air Soft pistol to his girlfriend’s head and told her he could “do real damage”.

He throttled the woman until she lost consciousness, and then refused to let her leave for days, locking her in their Chippenham flat while he went out.

The case was referred to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme, and Solicitor General Alex Chalk MP reviewed it.

However, he decided not to refer it to the Court of Appeal.

Swindon Advertiser: Foster tried to sell his AirSoft pistol.Foster tried to sell his AirSoft pistol.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the AGO said: “A referral under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme to the Court of Appeal can only be made if a sentence is not just lenient but unduly so, such that the sentencing judge made a gross error or imposed a sentence outside the range of sentences reasonably available in the circumstances of the offence.

“The threshold is a high one, and the test was not met.”

In a victim statement to the court two years ago, Foster’s ex said she had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and was too scared to fall asleep as she knew she would have nightmares. She had suffered headaches in the wake of the assault and still had a scar on her face as a permanent reminder of the attack. After moving into a refuge hostel she had to give up the couple’s Labrador puppies.

Foster, formerly of Queens Square in Chippenham, pleaded guilty to false imprisonment, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

Swindon Advertiser: Callum FosterCallum Foster

The court had been told that Foster had a troubled early childhood. He suffered from poor mental health and substance misuse, and had been prescribed anti-psychotic medication.

He had a poor record, with five convictions for 16 offences. The assault came barely a year after he was given a suspended sentence for a bizarre spree that saw him pose as a police officer, steal a £32,000 convertible, get stopped on the M5 with ninja weapons and threaten a schoolgirl at knifepoint and order her to model lingerie for him.

The judge sentenced him to four years and eight months in prison.