AN engineer has received a suspended sentence for attacking his girlfriend despite her not supporting the prosecution.

Recorder Alistair Malcolm QC read a letter underlining her stance when Owen Franklyn appeared for sentence at Southampton Crown Court for battery and smashing her mobile and iPhones.

Prosecutor Gavin Sumpter described how Franklyn, 22, of Gatwick Close, Lordshill, Southampton, blamed his girlfriend when children started throwing stones at the window of his grandmother’s flat.

He then pushed his girlfriend on to the bed and threatened to harm himself with a knife in front of her and his grandmother.