AN ASSISTANT manager at a pub who mixed drink with cocaine broke into his girlfriend’s house and threatened to kill her before hurling a television set and a radiator at her.

Ryder Gilronan, 29, of St Peter’s Grove, Canterbury, suspected that his girlfriend, Elizabeth Hall, had gone home with another man.

Canterbury magistrates heard that before the attack the couple had argued and Miss Hall had complained that Gilronan was trying to control her. “He told her he did not like her friends and that she should not hang around with them,” said prosecutor Jackie Morey.

Miss Hall was alone in bed when she woken up at 5.30am to the sight of Gilronan pacing around the bedroom. He was growing angry and agitated.

He suddenly jumped on to Miss Hall, put his hands round her neck and said: “I’ll throttle you. No one will know.”

Gilronan, who worked at the Hobgoblin pub in St Peter’s Street, Canterbury, started slapping Miss Hall round the head and kicked her in the back. All the while, he was asking: “Where have you been?”

He continued punching and kicking in what was described as a “prolonged and disturbing assault on a young girl”.

He then ripped the radiator off the wall and threw it at her before hurling a television and make-up items at her.

Mrs Morey went on: “All through this, Miss Hall was curled up in a ball. He said he was going to break her nose and she was very fearful.”

Then Gilronan told her: “You better move because if I ever see again, I will kill you.”

The violence was eventually brought to an end when a neighbour got into the flat.

Gilronan admitted assault, causing actual harm and criminal damage. A charge of making threats to kill was withdrawn.

Gilronan has emotional and mental problems, plus a history of self-harming and self-loathing, his lawyer Paul Goldspring told the court.

“There may be some form of personality disorder or mental illness,” said Mr Goldspring. “He is a man who has had difficulty in emotional relationships and has had self-harm and self-loathing issues.”

He was not looking to excuse his behaviour and had not been planning the attack.

The solicitor said: “The relationship was in difficulty. He drank and mixed that with cocaine and believed that his partner had gone home with another man.

“He is absolutely disgusted with himself. But this is a young man who is highly thought of, is an assistant manager in a pub who deals with drunk and obnoxious people in a professional way.”

The court heard that Gilronan has a previous assault conviction for attacking a man in a pub. He will be sentenced on December 19.