A man bombarded his ex-girlfriend with a host of unwanted phone calls.

Lee Michael Dempster, 38, was issued with a restraining order in May. 2014.

This banned him from contacting Amy Williams – who he had previously been in a relationship with for 12 years – in any way.

Carlisle Crown Court was told that he abided by the order for 18 months, until Miss Williams then contacted him.

The pair briefly reconciled and got back together but trouble began after she ended the relationship.

Dempster made repeated attempts to contact her by telephone, the court heard, despite the restraining order remaining in force.

He breached it four times in total, during January and February, and appeared at the crown court on Friday in front of Judge Peter Davies for sentencing.

The judge heard that Dempster, of Borrowdale, near Keswick, had been remanded in custody for four months following his most recent breach.

That, the court heard, was the equivalent of an eight-month jail term.

As a result, Judge Davies concluded that Dempster had served enough time on remand in connection with the matter.

The judge ordered his immediate release but imposed a new restraining order which prevents him from contacting Miss Williams in any way for three years.