Thug called ex a 'fat, ugly c***' and threatened to smash her face in

A jilted man torched his ex's car then threatened to set fire to the house where she lived with her children, a court heard.

Joseph Whittam - now starting a jail sentence - sent hundreds of abusive texts and voicemails, including death threats, to the woman and a man he wrongly thought she had started a relationship with.

In August 2022, Whittam, 32, called the woman a "fat, ugly c***" and threatened to smash her face in, a judge was told.

At around 6pm on February 26, 2022, Whittam messaged the woman and threatened to set fire to her car. Two hours later she looked outside to see her vehicle ablaze, reports Lancs Live. The inside of the car was completely destroyed and the exterior was extensively damaged, Preston Crown Court heard.

During a short period of reconciliation, Whittam again became controlling and abusive, and his partner called the relationship off. Whittam threatened to stamp on her face, and set fire to her home, the court heard.

"These threats need to be seen in the context of what had already happened", Judge Robert Altham, sentencing, said. "They were not hollow threats."

At one stage, Whittam's ex tried to appease him by allowing him to collect her child from school, but Whittam warned her that if she went near the school he would hit her. Whittam was arrested and later pleaded guilty to arson and sending threatening or abusive messages through electronic communication.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said she felt like an emotional wreck and was exhausted by her ex's ongoing abuse. She said she struggled to sleep and a skin condition had flared up due to the stress she was under.

"I was frightened of what he would do next", she said.

The Honorary Recorder of Preston, Judge Altham, said: