A LOVESICK man has been jailed for three years and nine months for dragging his frightened ex-partner out of her Brierley Hill flat and down 12 flights of stairs so she could watch him commit suicide.

Judge John Wait at Wolverhampton Crown Court told 28-year-old father-of-five Paul Attwell he had subjected his victim to a "terrifying" ordeal with no thought whatsoever for her feelings.

He said Attwell had grabbed her mobile telephone as she tried to call police and thrown it down the rubbish chute at the flats after tearing out a clump of her hair.

Attwell had forced his way into the Brierley Hill flat in the early hours and at the time he was on bail, having breached a restraining order to stay away from his former girlfriend.

Rob Edwards, prosecuting, said Attwell had dragged the woman - who was in her nightclothes - along the streets while carrying a length of rope.

He then made a loop with the rope and told her he was going to take his own life but she stopped him and then agreed to accompany him to his sister's home where he could seek assistance.

The young woman, Mr Edwards told the court, was left extremely distressed and apart from losing the clump of hair she also sustained bruising.

Attwell, of The Broadway, Dudley, admitted kidnap and the judge extended the restraining order forbidding him from contacting the woman by a further five years.

Stephen Hamblett, defending Attwell - who had put his hand over the woman's mouth to stop her screaming, said he had now accepted the relationship was over.

He was full of remorse for his actions, he added, having been plagued by alcohol and drug problems and he accepted he had to change his lifestyle if he was to get his life back on the rails.

Mr Edwards told the court Attwell had been warned by the woman he would get into trouble when he first approached her in breach of the restraining order.

Then, while he was dragging her along the road while carrying the length of rope, he forced her to hide behind bushes so she would not be seen by a passing police patrol car.

The judge said it was clear Attwell had never been in "honest employment" and he had committed petty crime in the past to fuel his drink and drug problems.