A 33-year marriage ended with assault and a restraining order when a Pembroke Dock woman feared her husband would drown her in the bath.

Nigel Graham Davies, of Elizabeth Court, appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates for sentencing on Wednesday, October 3, after pleading guilty to two charges of assault the previous day.

Vaughan Pritchard-Jones, prosecuting, said Davies’ 33 year marriage had declined and the pair had been arguing on September 8.

She was running a bath when he ran in shouting at her, and she described his eyes as almost popping out of his head as he picked her up fully-dressed and dangled her over the water.

Mr Pritchard-Jones said: “He started to lower her into the bath, her hair got wet as did her bottom. She was really frightened, she thought he was going to push her into the bath and drown her.”

Davies, 57, ‘snapped out of it’ when his wife screamed that he could go to prison if he continued, and pushed her so that she fell backwards causing a minor graze.

He left the property, but returned at his wife’s request, however, there was a further argument on September 30, when his wife believed he was watching porn on his phone and confronted him.

He pushed her and she tripped over a stool and fell to the floor.

Mr Pritchard-Jones said: “While on the floor the defendant put his knee on her chest and his hand over her mouth. She was struggling to breathe.”

Mrs Davies managed to wriggle free and called 999 from the kitchen, but Davies pulled the telephone wire from the wall.

Police attended in response to the dropped call and Davies, who was previously of clean character, was arrested. He stated he placed his hand over his wife’s mouth because she would not stop arguing.

Mike Kelleher, defending, said: “Things had been getting worse in the relationship and little things had been growing and getting worse and worse.

“She called him a pervert, and that upset him. He accepts he put his hand over her mouth to stop her from saying such things.”

Magistrates imposed a community order with 140 hours of unpaid work and ordered Davies to pay £170 in costs and a surcharge.

A three year restraining order was issued, prohibiting Davies from contacting his wife or going within 50 metres of her home.