A MOODY man breached his restraining order by calling a woman more than 400 times in 72 days.

Joseph Booth also launched a hairbrush at her face, which split her lip and resulted in her needing to undergo plastic surgery.

The 29-year-old then told her to lie about how she received her injures by telling medical staff that she fell over.

Booth appeared before Liverpool Crown Court to be sentenced, where his address was stated as simply being HM Prison Altcourse.

He was subsequently told that as a result of his ‘flagrant disregard of court orders’, he will remain in jail.

Prosecutor Mike Stephenson explained to the court how Booth was jailed in February last year for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and criminal damage against the same victim – his partner of four years.

Alongside his sentence, he was made subject to a restraining order forbidding him to contact her for three years.

However, he promptly ignored this in June ‘almost immediately’ after being released from prison on licence by calling her and inviting her to visit his Warrington home.

Joseph Booth was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court

Joseph Booth was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court

Despite the restraining order, they did rekindle their relationship after she agreed to visit him, but it became more abusive as he got to know her again.

Booth was described as being ‘moody’ by the victim after visiting his home on July 30. On that occasion, he told her to ‘get the f**k out’ an threw a hairbrush at her upper lip.

Afterwards, he told her to go to hospital but to tell doctors that she fell over, and when she did attend Warrington Hospital, she was told that plastic surgery would be required to repair the damage.

The last contact between the pair was a series of abusive phone messages sent to her on August 11, one of which said: “You need putting down you evil b***h.”

Phone records revealed that he rang her 435 times between June 1 and August 11.

Booth was arrested for breaching his restraining order and also charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Paul Wood, defending, told the court that the assault was not premeditated and the level of injury was not intended.

He also referred to the defendant’s guilty pleas and said that his client had told him he was ‘very sorry and had learnt his lesson’.

Recorder Stan Reiz sentenced Booth to 16 months in prison.