A MAN told his girlfriend “it will be my main mission in life to destroy you” during a terrifying hotel room attack.

Connor Gough, 21, put the tip of a knife to her neck and grabbed her around the throat when the then-couple were staying in Manchester.

The victim said she feared that the defendant, who is from Caerphilly, was going to kill her that night.

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Gough attacked her after the pair had argued during a break in the summer of 2020.

Byron Broadstock, prosecuting, told Cardiff Crown Court: “The defendant said to her, ‘I’m going to smash your face in. You make me so angry.’”

After the victim had gone into the bathroom to get away from him, the defendant went after her with a knife.

Mr Broadstock said: “The defendant put the tip of the knife against her neck.

“He then pinned her down and spat in her face and said: ‘You are nothing but scum.

‘Look at what you have turned me into.’

“The defendant told her, ‘It will be my main mission in life to destroy you.’”

Gough then grabbed her around the throat.

The woman was struggling to breath before he left her leave the hotel room.

In a victim impact statement, she said: “I honestly thought I was going to die that night.”

Gough, of Upper Wood Street, Bargoed, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm on August 21, 2020.

He had no previous convictions recorded against him.

Harry Baker, representing the defendant, said it has been two years since the offence took place.

Judge Michael Fitton QC told Gough he was a “very complex young man” who had acted like a “spoiled child”.

The court heard it was believed the defendant was capable of being rehabilitated.

He was jailed for 12 months, suspended for 18 months.

Gough was ordered to complete 30 sessions of a “Building Better Relationships” programme, 150 hours of unpaid work and a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

The defendant was made the subject of a five-year restraining order not to contact his former partner and pay her £500 in compensation, £250 prosecution costs and a £156 surcharge.