A former Lydney town councillor has admitted flouting court orders imposed on him last year for imprisoning a woman in her home in Stroud for more than two hours.

During the woman's frightening ordeal, Louis Arnold barricaded her front door, took the handles off windows, turned off the power to the house and threw her belongings outside, Gloucester Crown Court was told in September 2021.

The former Labour councillor also shouted that he was looking for the bolts for a crossbow he kept in the house and that he had 'turps and a lighter,' the court was told.

Arnold, 44, of Acorn Drive, Lydney, was sentenced to 46 weeks jail suspended for two years and the court also imposed a restraining order banning him from making any contact with a named female for five years.

But at Cheltenham Magistrates Court on Friday (April 5) Arnold admitted two breaches of the restraining order by attempting to contact the named person during October 2021 and actually making contact with her on New Year's Eve, December 31, 2021.

He also admitted he was in breach of the original suspended sentence order.

The magistrates committed him to Gloucester Crown Court to be sentenced on May 6 for the breach and the new offences. He was granted unconditional bail ending sentence.

An order was made under the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 that nothing can be reported which would identify the person named in the charges.

At last year's sentencing hearing, the crown court was told the original offences occurred after Arnold and the woman attended a barbecue in Lydney in June 2020.

On arrival back at the woman's home in Stroud, Arnold shouted at her 'Why were the other barbecue guests giving me funny looks?' after which he started throwing the woman's clothing out of the house.

When he saw her holding her phone he accused her of messaging 'her bloke' and said when he found out who it was he would be dead. He then went downstairs and shouted out 'Where are my bolts?' - a reference to his crossbow, which he kept in a cupboard in the woman's home.

He turned off the electricity and shouted at her 'I'm not going anywhere until I get answers,' and stated that 'nobody is getting in and nobody is getting out.'"

Arnold was heard to barricade the front door with the contents of a downstairs cupboard and the woman felt she was being trapped in the house, the court was told.

Arnold then shouted to the woman 'I have turps and a lighter here' before barging into the bedroom, where he lunged at her and grabbed her phone, during which she bit his ear.

He also removed the handles from the windows to prevent her exiting the house that way and barricaded the front door to keep the police out.

The defence said the incident came about during "the sad ending of their relationship, which provoked him into acting the way he did."

When Judge Ian Lawrie QC sentenced Arnold last September he told him: "Your behaviour was irrational, emotionally abusive and was disturbing and distressing for the victim."