A violent boyfriend who knocked his partner unconscious has been jailed | Preston Crown Court

But because Macauley Worth has already spent more than six months behind bars waiting for his case to be heard the city’s Crown Court was told he will now walk free.

The 30-year old pleaded guilty to harassment, assault and criminal damage when he appeared before Recorder Anna Price for sentence.

The court was told his now ex-girlfriend suffered a series of injuries at the hands of Worth who was said in court to have a long history of violent offending.

In one incident he stormed into a pub in a jealous rage and dragged her out by her hair, accusing her of messaging other men.

He smashed her mobile phone and punched her so hard on the side of her face that she fell to the floor unconscious.

And when she challenged him about his thuggish behaviour he blamed her for making him do it.

Recorder Price heard the pair got together in 2024 and the relationship “started well”. But it soon became a nightmare for her due to his suspicious nature.

In May 2024 he attacked her, slapping her across the face and then pulling out her hair and eyelash extensions. He ran off but was arrested nearby, telling police he had a razor blade and would harm himself while in custody.

The court was told he didn’t like her going out, would constantly text her to ask what she was doing. He demanded she install a tracker app on her phone which showed him just where she was at any time.

In June 2025, following a minor argument, he punched out at a door at her house causing damage to the wall behind it. When she went out to the pub later that same day he told her he was not happy. And while she was enjoying a drink with friends he burst into the pub, grabbed her by the hair from behind and hauled her out.

On another occasion they were out together in Burnley when she began getting text messages from her mother. He accused her of messaging other men and grabbed her phone before running off and smashing it.

She ran after him and when she caught up with him he claimed he had gone through her phone and discovered she had been texting other men.

He punched her to the side of the face and knocked her out. When she came round she was surrounded by people she didn’t recognise.

She returned home alone that night only for Worth to turn up later with her smashed phone. He fell asleep, but when he woke up he blamed her for the way he had acted.

He then went into the bathroom and cut his own cheek with a razor blade, saying that if she called the police he would tell them she did it.

Worth’s criminal record showed he had 30 previous offences, 12 of them involving violence.

Barrister Tom Worsfold, representing Worth, said his client was “genuinely remorseful” for his behaviour towards his ex-partner and now had an insight into the impact the offences had caused her.

He said he had been unable to control himself because of a condition called emotional dysregulation. Now, after spending more than six months in prison on remand, he wanted to move on with his life.

Recorder Price told Worth that during the relationship he had begun to change. He didn’t like her going out and when she challenged him about his worsening behaviour he blamed her for how he was.

She sentenced him to a total of 12 months in prison, but because of the six-and-a-half months he had already spent in custody she said it was anticipated he would be released immediately.

She also made him the subject of a restraining order banning from making any contact with his ex-girlfriend for seven years.