An intruder who forced his way into a house and strangled a teenage girl while shouting he wanted to kill her has been jailed for three years and three months.

Mark Hunt, 57, repeatedly attacked the girl and her mother during a "dreadful and terrifying" invasion in Hartlepool in January, Teesside Crown Court heard.

The girl said she had suffered night terrors almost every night since the attack, while her mother said she still feared for their lives.

Hunt, from Hartlepool, admitted intentional strangulation and assault causing actual bodily harm.

At about 01:00 GMT on 9 January, Hunt got a taxi to the home of the woman and her daughter, both of whom were asleep, prosecutor Paul Rooney said.

Hunt was on bail at the time with a condition not to go near the pair after he pushed the teenager in November while in a drunken rage, the court heard.

He told the taxi driver the girl was "evil" and he was going to kill her mother, the court heard.

The driver was so concerned he called police after dropping Hunt off, the court heard.

Hunt let himself into the house and "burst" into the girl's bedroom, grabbing her phone and then going to her mother's room to get her mobile to stop either of them calling for help, Rooney said.

He shouted he was going to kill the girl then grabbed her in a headlock with his arm clamped tight around her neck and cutting off her breathing, the court heard.

Her mother tried to intervene but Hunt bit her before resuming his attack on the girl, punching and kicking her and dragging her by her hair, the court heard.

In a statement read to the court, the girl said she had "suffered night terrors and nightmares almost every night" since the attack.

She said she had been suffering stress, a total loss of confidence and her throat hurt if she talked for too long, the court heard.

Her mother said she kept having panic attacks triggered by her fears Hunt would attack her and her daughter again.

"I am fearful if he were ever to be be released, mine and my daughter's lives would be at risk," she said.

Judge Francis Laird KC said the girl "must have been terrified" lying in her bed with Hunt "towering above her".

The judge said it was a "dreadful and terrifying" incident.

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