A FORMER soldier breached a restraining order after his ex bombarded him with 800 texts in three days and constantly rang his granddad’s landline.

Kevin Brian Lewis handed himself in to police when he realised what he had done but didn’t want to press charges against his former partner Sharron Geddes.

The 41-year-old pleaded guilty to breaching the order between January 1 and July 7 and was warned if he did it again he could end up in jail.

Mr Lee Dacre, prosecuting, told Furness Magistrates’ Court: “The order was imposed by Hyde magistrates in December last year to prevent him having contact with his former partner. Police were contacted by the defendant about the texts she was sending him. There had been 800 in three days. He eventually texted back and sent several others over a few days.

“She said she had contacted the defendant over a picture he had put of their child on Facebook and she wanted it taken down. The order was put in place after an incident of common assault on December 2 last year and there was one other breach in March this year.”

Miss Karen Templeton, defending, said: “This is a very unusual case as it was the defendant himself who contacted the police. He had been in a relationship with Ms Geddes for four years and they have a child.

“When they split up he moved back to Barrow to live with his grandfather and she remained in Fleetwood. He changed his mobile number so she started ringing the landline all of the time and it was upsetting his grandfather who is 85.

“Because of the child he had been in contact and pays a lot of money. He keeps having to change his mobile number so she can’t contact him but then she constantly rings the landline. The breach in March was because he went round to see his child and it got to the point that she was sending 300 texts a day and Facebook messages.

“He went to the police because of this. She is still texting him. While he was in my office she texted him five times.

“He is going to change his number again and his granddad is now going to have to change his landline number. He doesn’t want any contact with her and is going to go through social services to get access to his son.

“She is saying he isn’t the father so he is going to have to deal with having tests for that.”

Magistrates said they were happy to let the order continue until December 22 but gave him a 15-week curfew between 7pm and 7am.

Lewis, of Elterwater Crescent, Barrow, was told to pay a £60 victim surcharge, criminal court costs of £180 and prosecution costs of £85.

He was told him to contact police straight away if Ms Geddes contacted him by text or social media adding that responding could see him jailed.