Spurned Telford man jailed for neighbour attack
A 20-year-old man assaulted a neighbour at a shared accommodation after she had refused his amorous advances, a court was told.
Factory worker Ashok Bhatia had followed the victim as she tried to get away from him and had grabbed her and punched her in the face.
He later tried to get away when police arrived at the scene and hid in bushes and was struggling with officers who used CS spray to restrain him.
Bhatia was sentenced to a total of 18 months in a young offenders institution when he appeared at Shrewsbury Crown Court.
Judge Jonathan Gosling said he had taken into account the nature of the assault, that it was committed whole on bail and that Bhatia was also in breach of a suspended sentence.
The court heard that the woman had encountered Bhatia at the shared accommodation at 5am on December 21.
Mr Robert Edwards, prosecuting, told the court the defendant, who had earlier had a party in his room, had grabbed her and expressed his love for her.
"This was a surprise as she had little to do with him and she was scared.
"He followed her and she told him to leave her alone," he said.
The victim managed to get away but returned later to find Bhatia kicking her door and she was grabbed again and punched on the right cheek.
Mr Edwards said police had been called and as Bhatia fled he went over a fence and into some bushes and struggled violently and was lashing out at the officers before he was arrested.
Bhatia, of Hurleybrook Way in Leegomery, Telford, had been convicted of assaulting the woman in December and resisting arrest.
At the time of the offence he had been on bail for a drugs offence and was in breach of a suspended sentence imposed for creating and using counterfeit currency.
The court heard that in September last year police searched Bhatia's previous address in Madeley and found approximately five grammes of cannabis, £105 in cash, three mobile phones, electric scales and self-sealing bags and admitted possession with intent to supply.
Mr Dean Easthope, for Bhatia, said his client was vulnerable and still had support from a social worker and had an isolated life style.
He said the defendant had been using cannabis and was dealing to friends to fund his own habit.
On the night of the assault the defendant had been drinking and could remember nothing of the incident.
