A TYCROES man held a knife to his partner’s throat and threatened to cut her brother’s limbs off with weapons he had stashed outside the house.

Swansea Crown Court heard that Michael Bowles, 62, was in a relationship with the victim for around six years.

Thomas Scapens, prosecuting, said the defendant “doesn’t have a good relationship” with the victim’s brother.

At around 6pm on March 10, Bowles was drinking brandy as he and the victim watched football at their Ammanford home.

The victim’s brother called her asking her to take a video down off of Facebook. The call angered the defendant, Mr Scapens said.

He added that Bowles said: ‘You’re not doing that. This is my time watching the football.’

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The victim said she would remove the video, and hung up quickly to avoid angering Bowles further. However, he called back several times as he was concerned about her welfare.

The brother then called Bowles to ask if his sister was okay. The defendant replied: ‘Why don’t you just f*** off. This is my conjugal night.’

Bowles threw his phone across the room in anger and told the victim her brother would owe him money if it was broken.

He then told her: ‘I’m going to kill him. I’m going to cut his throat. It’s going to happen, you’ll just have to get used to it.’

Bowles went to the kitchen, and the victim used that time to call her brother and warn him against coming to the address.

Mr Scapens said Bowles returned, having appeared to have gone outside, carrying two knives in one hand and a mallet and a hammer in the other.

He placed these on the table, before removing one of the knives from its sleeve, walking towards the victim and holding the blade to her throat.

Mr Scapens said that Bowles then left the property, before returning shortly afterwards.

“He had been outside placing weapons in or near his van,” the prosecutor told the court.

He said these included garden shears and drill bits, and that Bowles “brazenly” asked the victim for permission to remove her brother’s limbs.

Bowles called her brother and attempted to goad him in to coming to the address by calling him “a big girl’s blouse”. However, the brother called the police.

“The police attended and knocked the door,” Mr Scapens said. “The defendant could be heard saying: ‘Oh yeah, oh yeah, you’re here now’.”

Bowles was said to have been surprised as he opened the door to the police, having expected the victim’s brother.

He was arrested, and shouted at the victim that she “had caused him to lose his job”.

In interview, Bowles – who had seven previous convictions for 17 offences – admitted the charges.

Matthew Murphy, in mitigation, said Bowles accepted the victim’s account and admitted the offences at the first available occasion, despite not remembering what had happened that evening.

“Alcohol was clearly an influence,” he added.

“He apologises for these offences. He clearly understands his actions were unacceptable towards all of those affected.”

Sentencing Bowles, Judge Geraint Walters said: “To do that to your partner of six years is unspeakably bad. Any man should be ashamed by it.”

The defendant was sentenced to 12 months for making threats to kill and two months, running concurrently, for common assault. These sentences were suspended for two years.

Bowles, of Teglan Park, must complete a 120-day alcohol abstinence and monitoring programme and 25 days of rehabilitation activity requirement.

His victim was also granted an indefinite restraining order against him.