A jilted lover threatened to burn his former partner’s house down and spray-painted abusive words on it after they split up, a court heard.

Steven Pettit, from Maidstone, not only used an aerosol can to write the words lying, cheating, drug dealing **** on the woman’s home but on another occasion wrote **** on her car and smashed the windows after things became acrimonious between the pair.

The 36-year-old went to the woman’s home in Rainham in April to daub offensive words on her house and car.

A few days later, the couple – who had an on-off relationship – met up again in London but he flew into a rage when he decided he would go through her phone.

As he tried to grab the device from her, he threw it to the floor and as she tried to pick it up, Pettit got hold of it and threw it out of a window. It smashed when it landed on some gravel outside.

A few months later, Pettit started calling the woman repeatedly and left threatening voicemails for her, some of which stated he would burn her house down while others said he would beat up her friends and family.

In another message left during the early hours of one morning, Pettit said he would blow up her car as well as set her house on fire.

Later the same morning, he turned up at the address, intoxicated, and took a builder’s hat out of his boot and used it to smash the front and rear windows of her vehicle, before jumping into his own car and driving off.

The matter was reported to the police and officers soon caught up with Pettit, pulling him over in Willington Street, Maidstone, where he was arrested.

Officers found cans of Stella in his red Mitshibushi and he was asked to do a roadside breath test, which he failed.

When he was searched, a wrap of white power, which turned out to be cocaine, fell from him.

He admitted to an officer that he said he was going to blow up his lover’s car, that he had put the windows through and he had threatened to kill her.

Pettit, of Wallis Avenue, Maidstone, was charged with an array of offences including three counts of criminal damage, possession of cocaine, making threats to kill, sending communications coveying threatening messages and drink-driving.

He admitted the offences on August 14, and a pre-sentencing report was ordered. He was given an interim driving ban and told to return to Maidstone Magistrates’ Court on November 1.

The court heard he spray-painted the house and car with derogatory words on April 10 and then smashed her phone in London two days later on April 12.

Magistrates were told he sent the messages, smashed the windows on her car and was found to be over the limit and with the Class A drug on August 12.

Julie Farbrace, prosecuting, said when given further breath tests at the station, Pettit gave a reading of 70 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

The prosecutor added: “He pleaded guilty to the charges on August 14 and a PSR was ordered.

“[The woman] had not made a statement in relation to these cases. They were partners but are now ex-partners.

“He used spray paint to write lying, cheating, drug dealing ****, on her home and then **** on her vehicle.

“In April they met up in London and he got hold of her phone and an argument broke out and he threw the phone out of a window and it hit gravel and smashed.

“In August, he called a number of times and left voicemails saying he would burn her house down and beat up her mates, her family and her daughter’s boyfriend.

“One call at 4am stated he was going to blow up her car and set her house on fire.

“He then attended her address and got a builder’s hat out of his boot and smashed the rear window and the windscreen on her car with the hat.

“After being arrested he said to an officer: ‘Now I will kill her, that is a threat’.”

The court heard Pettit had a previous conviction for drink-driving as well as one for a public order offence which was committed in 2008.

Magistrates were told it had been hard for Pettit to realise the harm he had caused, but he had hit rock bottom after their split and had used drugs and alcohol, including cannabis, since he was a teenager because his father had died.

He now suffered with mental health issues but was trying to get his life back on track and was working with his doctor to get help. He had been clean for the past 28 days, which he saw as an achievement, the court heard.

Since he had committed the crimes he had lost his job and was in dire straits financially, and as he was not able to drive it had also affected the relationship he had with his children.

Magistrates jailed Pettit for 120 days for all the offences apart from drink-driving, but suspended the term for two years.

He was also ordered to pay £100 compensation to the woman for her broken phone and complete 20 rehabilitation sessions with probation and complete a drug rehabilitation requirement for six months.

The bench also placed him under curfew for three months and placed a two-year restraining order on him preventing him from going near the woman or her daughter.

They fined him £120 for the drink-driving offence, banned him from the road for 18 months, but said the ban was backdated to August 14 when he initially pleaded guilty to all the offences.

Pettit was offered a drink-driving course which, if he completes it, will reduce the ban by a quarter.