A jealous man tried to strangle his terrified partner, screaming that he was going to kill her, as she gasped for breath.
The petrified woman had earlier dialled 999 while hiding in the kitchen.
Christopher Robertson, 21, of Trinity Street, Hawick, was jailed for 13 months when he appeared on indictment at Jedburgh Sheriff Court, pictured, last Friday.
The first offender admitted assaulting his partner at a flat in North Street, Peebles, on May 19 last year, straddling her body while she was on the ground, restricting her breathing by placing his hand around her neck and threatening to kill her.
Robertson was said to have been jealous of the woman’s behaviour with a friend who had been drinking with them earlier, although the relationship between the couple – who have a young baby – was described as “quite fractious”.
Prosecutor Tessa Bradley told a previous hearing how Robertson and his girlfriend – who was 17 years old at the time – shared the flat with their then nine-month-old baby. She explained: “In the run-up to this incident, the relationship had deteriorated, as neither was working and both were at home most of the day with a young baby.”
The friend visited the home the previous evening and all three were socialising – “They had all consumed alcohol, though not to excess,” continued Ms Bradley.
The visitor left the flat at about 1.30am on May 19.
“Shortly after he left the accused became jealous of the way she had been behaving with this man, calling her a whore,” said Ms Bradley.
Robertson picked up the baby, who started crying, and his girlfriend pleaded with him to put the child down, and she took him back to his cot.
The woman tried to avoid the accused as his mood was deteriorating.
Ms Bradley said: “She hid in the kitchen and dialled 999. She ended up on the floor and he straddled her with his knees and grabbed her tightly by the throat and squeezed, causing her to gasp for breath.
“She estimated this strangulation lasted for about 30 seconds, during which time he was screaming, ‘I’m going to kill you’.
“In the course of this he slapped her to the head and she managed to push her fingers into his eyes and push him away. She escaped and took refuge in the bathroom.”
Police officers, responding to the earlier call, arrived to find the woman “very distressed”.
Defending, Stephanie Clinkscale said: “They were a young couple with a young baby, and it was a chaotic and stressful time. He did not handle the pressure in the correct manner.”
Sheriff Peter Paterson told Robertson: “This is a serious assault and your approach to this matter does you no credit whatsoever. You don’t seem to accept your culpability.”