A man pulled the plug on his girlfriend's electricity, plunging his terrified victim's house into darkness after his birthday celebrations turned sour.

Jason Knights, 37, had been celebrating with his partner but a row broke out and she went home.

Knights turned up at her house in Nayland Drive, Clacton, in the early hours of Sunday morning and started banging on the door, demanding to be let in.

A court heard he yanked the power cable out of the electricity meter.

"All the lights went out as the electricity went off," said Sharon Hall, prosecuting.

"She was afraid so she called the police."

Knights told officers he had pulled the power cable out before when he was angry.

"Asked if it was normal behaviour, he said It is for me'," said Mrs Hall.

Knights had been held in custody after telling police he would sort out his partner when he was released, the court heard.

He admitted criminal damage.

Hendrika Plomp, mitigating, said Knights went round to his victim's house because he had nowhere else to go.

The court heard he had suffered serious head injuries in a car accident four years ago and had part of his brain removed.

"At certain times, he is just not aware of what he is doing and the early hours of Sunday morning was one of those occasions," Miss Plomp told the court.

Knights had claimed he broke the power cable by accident.

Jailing him for four weeks, magistrates told him: "You must have known what you were doing - you have done it before."