A mother and daughter were assaulted in their own home by a Haverfordwest man.

Martin Kestell, of Tower Hill, appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Wednesday, September 2, having previously pleaded guilty to two charges of assault.

Vaughan Pritchard-Jones, prosecuting, said Kestell, 51, had been in an on-off relationship with the victim for some time, but they did not live together.

The pair had been out drinking on the afternoon of July 13, the woman went home to bed, but Kestell stayed out drinking.

He went to the victim’s house three hours later.

Mr Pritchard-Jones, said: “He managed to get in, and the complainant says he immediately came up into her bedroom.”

Kestell grabbed the woman, pushed her against a wall and put his hands around her neck.

Mr Prichard-Jones added: “No injury was caused, but it was very unpleasant for her.”

The woman’s daughter was grabbed and pushed around the bedroom when she intervened, and sustained a small injury to her wrist.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the woman said: “My children and I are living in fear in my own home. I am constantly looking over my shoulder. I am very frightened of him.”

Tom Lloyd, defending, said Kestell, a hardworking man who ran his own company, made full admissions when interviewed.

“He has been an upstanding member of society.

“The root cause of this argument was that both parties on that night consumed a large amount of alcohol, which escalated to what happened.

“Since this incident he has abstained from drinking to excess.

“The impact that all this has had on him has been significant. He accepts that there are problems and it’s something that he is open to addressing.”

Mr Lloyd added that the isolated incident was not planned or sustained.

“This is someone who, on one night, behaved completely unacceptably. He accepts it was highly unpleasant.”

Magistrates imposed a 12-month community order with 60 hours of unpaid work and a 20-day rehabilitation activity.

He was ordered to pay £855 in compensation, costs and a surcharge.

A one-year restraining order was imposed prohibiting Kestell from contacting the victims or going within 100 metres of their home.