Bournemouth man who strangled and threatened to kill woman jailed

A man from Bournemouth who strangled a woman and then threatened to kill her has been jailed.

Matthew Ponchaud, 51, pleaded guilty to the intentional strangulation of a woman in Tisbury and common assault.

It follows an incident at an address in Tisbury on November 12, 2022.

Ponchaud then made several phone calls to his victim, in breach of his bail conditions, and threatened to kill her if she did not drop the charges.

In March, he was stopped on the High Street, Hindon, and was arrested for drink driving.

Local Crime Investigator for Wiltshire Police, Martin Batchelor, said: “I want to pay tribute to Ponchaud’s victim who despite intimidation continued to bravely speak to us about what had happened so that we were able to bring him to justice.

“We would always urge anyone who has been the victim of abuse, no matter when the offences occurred, to come forward and speak to police. We have specially-trained teams to investigate these types of crimes and we will deal with your report sensitively."

He's been sentenced to 18 months in prison and disqualified from driving.

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