A spurned lover broke into his ex-girlfriend’s house, sexually assaulted and strangled her before trying to jump out of the window, a court heard.

Matthew Walker, 37, dated the alleged victim for around 10 months before their relationship came to an end.

Anxious to continue “where he left off”, he went to her Finsbury flat in the middle of the night, climbed through the faulty bathroom window and walked into her bedroom, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard on Tuesday.

He is then said to have attacked her, torn her knickers off and threatened to rape her – leaving her with bruising around her eyes and to her throat.

Prosecutor Timothy Devlin said: “He came round her flat in the early hours of the morning, at 00.45, when she was in bed and half asleep.”

He added: “Nobody let Mr Walker into the flat. He said he didn’t know how he had got in and he grabbed her phone from her and threw it over the room. He then pinned her on the bed. She started to struggle, he said to her ‘You belong to me and you are mine’.

Screaming

“He then got hold of her knickers and ripped them off her and began to undo his trousers.”

She asked Walker if he was going to rape her, to which he allegedly replied: “Yes I can do what I want with you.”

Mr Devlin added: “She says that during the course of this [the attack] she was being strangled.”

Police were called after one of the victim’s flatmates heard her screaming for help.

When officers arrived, Walker threatened to kill himself, the court heard.

Mr Devlin said: “Mr Walker said everything was OK, they took him outside, they arrested him and locked him in handcuffs. He then tried to jump off the balcony but the officers managed to pull him back from doing so.’

Walker gave a ‘no comment’ interview at the police station, jurors heard.

Walker, of Kings Road, in Cheadle, Cheshire, denies assault occasioning actual bodily harm and sexual assault.

The trial continues.