A DUMPED lover who harassed his former East Cambridgeshire partner with repeated death threats by text message has been banned from seeing her.

Paul Young sent ex-lover Jacqueline McCabe messages such as: “You’re dead for ignoring me” and: “I’ll be down in a week or so to find you with that other man.”

The victim said she was “scared stiff” by the 40-year-old’s multimedia onslaught, which sometimes included sending between 40 and 50 text messages a day and making a number of phonecalls while she was at home in Littleport.

Young told police the texts were supposed be to “sarcastic” in nature but magistrates in Cambridge failed to see the funny side, ordering him to complete 180 hours of unpaid work.

“It is never easy to understand why people continue with prolonged and abusive contact that puts the previous partner into some fear,” chairman of the bench Dr Martin Savage said.

“Clearly your ex-partner was put into fear. You can’t go on with such unreasonable behaviour.”

He ordered that Young, of Lowfields Road, Benington, Boston, Lincolnshire, complete a 12-month community order and be barred from contacting Ms McCabe directly or indirectly. Young must also not visit her address.

“The restraining order is for the purpose of protecting her,” Dr Savage said.

Ms McCabe dated Young for a number of years until the end of 2010, Cambridge Magistrates’ Court heard.

“It was a really good relationship and it was getting to the point where she started to think about moving up to Lincolnshire,” prosecutor Laura Mardell said.

“But then the relationship got a bit funny and since then she has been receiving abusive and harassing contact from the defendant.”

The victim said she was frightened Young would carry out the threats.

“He has no desire to repeat the mistakes he has made,” David Lee said in mitigation.