A NORTHWICH man has been jailed after visiting the home of his domestic abuse victim ex-partner almost immediately after being banned from doing so.

Jacob Snelson, of Pear Tree Drive, appeared at Warrington Magistrates Court on Friday, July 12, where a domestic violence protection order (DVPO) was imposed upon him.

This banned the 26-year-old from contacting his former partner and coming within 100 metres of her address.

But police officers discovered Snelson had made six trips to her home in the four days immediately after his court appearance.

Snelson was hauled back to court on Wednesday, July 17, where he was jailed for four weeks after pleading guilty to breaching the DVPO.

The police were able to uncover Snelson's breaches thanks to a location tracking app on his phone.

At the time of the breaches, Snelson was also the subject of a separate order requiring regular visits from police officers, in which his mobile phone would be routinely checked.

Jacob SnelsonJacob Snelson (Image: Cheshire Police)

During a check of his phone on Tuesday, July 16, officers found he had been using an app which showed the locations of his and his former partner's phone.

The app also logged the locations that he had recently visited.

One of these locations had been saved as 'home' by Snelson and had been visited earlier that day.

But upon inspection, officers found the address was not his residence, but that of the victim whom the order against him was designed to protect.

Police Constable David Howells, of Cheshire Police's Public Protection team, said: "Snelson's reoffending began almost immediately following the issuing of the order, which was put in place less than five days before to protect a vulnerable person who had been the subject of domestic abuse.

"One thing is clear, we will not be needing an app to know the location of Snelson for the next month and I hope his custodial sentence will reassure victims of domestic abuse we will always take swift action against those intent on causing violence, fear and distress.

"I would encourage anyone who is a victim of domestic abuse to report it, either via 101 or 999 in an emergency.

"You can also report domestic abuse online to Cheshire Constabulary via our website here."