A DRUG user who broke an order to stay away from his ex-partner has been banned from going to a large area of Devon which includes Okehampton and Belstone.

David Heslop was spared an immediate jail sentence after a judge was told that he is working with the addiction service to tackle his use of drugs and has complied with a restraining order which banned contact with his ex.

He was arrested by police after a series of incidents in which he defied court orders and went to her home in Belstone.

Heslop, aged 35, previously of Beaworthy but now of Buller Road, Exeter, admitted three breaches of a restraining order and was jailed for 18 months, suspended for two years by Judge Anna Richardson at Exeter Crown Court.

He was ordered to attend a 30 session Building Better Relationships course and to undergo six months of drug rehabilitation and made subject of an amended five year restraining order.

It bans him from contacting his ex-partner, from entering Belstone, Sticklepath or Okehampton, or an area marked on a map and from using a number of roads in the area.

The Judge told him that she was suspending the sentence because Heslop had stayed out of trouble, stayed away from his ex-partner, and started to address his drug issues in the three months since she deferred sentence in May.

She said: 'When I adjourned this case last time, I told you that if you complied with the conditions of the deferment you would not receive an immediate prison sentence.

'You have got a methadone prescription sorted and had help with your mental health and substance abuse problems and engaged properly with probation.'

Miss Felicity Payne, prosecuting, said there was a domestic background to the offences which led to Heslop being ordered not to contact his former partner.

He broke the order repeatedly in 2021, sometimes when already awaiting trial on the earlier offences.

Miss Evie Dean, defending, said Heslop has made good progress since May and is keen to access all the help that is now available to him.