Ex-Tata Worker Held Screwdriver to Throat in Break-in

A former Tata Steel worker broke into his ex-partner’s home and held a screwdriver to her throat before bombarding her with hundreds of threatening messages, Swansea Crown Court heard. 🏛️

Ashley Edwards, 36, of Clos Sant Paul, Llanelli, climbed through a window at his former partner’s home in the early hours of April 23. Once inside, he began “shouting and screaming” before grabbing a screwdriver and pinning the woman down on the couch with the tool held to her neck.

When the terrified woman told Edwards her young daughter was upstairs, he replied: “I don’t give a f***.” The woman managed to free herself and Edwards left the property.

Over the following days, the victim received 250 texts and calls from Edwards – many from withheld numbers – which were “aggressive, abusive and threatening”. In one message, Edwards told the woman he had a “blade” and was “coming for you”, whilst another included a photograph taken in her back garden.

When arrested, Edwards initially claimed he had disposed of his phone but later admitted to hiding it. During police interview, he dismissed his threatening messages as “a joke” and “banter”.

In her victim statement, the woman said: “While the defendant had been living with her she felt like she was ‘walking on eggshells’ around him, and ‘the abuse and the cocaine was relentless’.” She added that when Edwards held the screwdriver to her neck, she thought she was going to die.

Edwards, who has a previous conviction for stalking a different former partner in 2019, pleaded guilty to stalking involving fear of violence.

Judge Huw Rees told the defendant: “Concentrate on being a father; give up cocaine; treat women properly.” ⚖️

Edwards was sentenced to 10 months in prison suspended for two years, ordered to complete rehabilitation and “building choices” programmes, and must carry out 150 hours of unpaid community work.