A man who repeatedly breached a restraining order and attacked a Stevenage woman in her home has been jailed for almost half a year.

Nicholas Lockett, of no fixed address, was already on bail when he repeatedly went to the street where the woman lived in March.

While there on March 3, he assaulted a police officer – and on March 21 he assaulted the woman in her home and broke the lock on her bathroom door.

Passing sentence at Stevenage Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, chairman of the bench Stephen Bubb jailed the 40-year-old for 24 weeks.

Lockett – who the court heard at one point locked the woman out of her home – admitted two counts of breaching a restraining order, assault, criminal damage and assaulting a police officer.

He had denied the assault and criminal damage, but changed his pleas on the day he had been set to stand trial.

Mr Bubb imposed a fresh restraining order, forbidding Lockett to contact his victim or visit a certain street for a year, and ordered him to pay a total of £250 compensation and £300 costs.