A 59-year-old man has been jailed for ten weeks for breaching a restraining order on the day he was released from prison.

Darren Michael Bardsley previously appeared in court, admitting going to his ex-partner’s home.

Prosecuting advocate Sara-Jayne Dodge told the court that Bardsley was issued with a Domestic Abuse Protection Order on November 5.

It prohibited him from having contact with his ex-partner.

However, on January 8 at 11.23am, he went to her home in Douglas and knocked on the door.

She wasn’t home but then pulled up in a car and spoke to Bardsley.

He told her: ‘I’ll see you later’, but she replied: ‘No you can’t.’

At 3pm, he returned to the address and asked if he could go inside for a drink.

Bardsley was later arrested at a hotel in Ballasalla and claimed he didn’t know about the condition not to contact the woman.

He said he was homeless and had no access to benefits.

When asked about going to the woman’s address, during an interview, he answered ‘no comment’.

Defence advocate Stephen Wood said that his client had been in a ‘catch 22 position’, as he had an interest in the property where his ex-partner lived, which had meant he was ineligible for benefits, but he could not reside there due to the restraining order, and he had no money and nowhere to live.

‘He went to the address in a state of desperation, to try to use the internet to look for a new address,’ said the advocate.

Bardsley was then said to have gone to the government office, Murray House, which had resulted in him initially being accommodated in the hotel where he was arrested.

Magistrates told the defendant: ‘This offence happened almost immediately upon your release from prison.’

No order for prosecution costs was made.