A BAKERY worker threatened to kill one of his colleagues and her young son in a series of chilling messages after she refused his sexual advances.

Mohammed Ali met the woman in August last year while working at the Greenhalgh's bakery in Lostock, and the pair became friends.

They kissed on a few occasions, but the woman refused a request from Ali to start a relationship, and she later decided she did not want anything to do with him.

After that refusal, Ali began to send her a number of messages via text and on Facebook in late December last year and early January, making threats against her and her two-year-old son.

One message read: "I know where you live. I kill you. You cannot run away from me."

Another read: "If I find you, I promise I will kill you."

Ali, aged 31, also began to send disturbing images to the woman, including a picture featuring someone carving the words "I love you" into their arm, as well as a picture of bleeding eyes.

The woman responded to the messages, pleading with Ali to stop contacting her, but he continued.

Then on January 9 and January 12 the threats became more serious, with Ali sending images of a gun and bullets to her, and also making threats against the life of her young son.

In a victim impact statement read out in court, the woman said: "I am scared for my life, and I am scared for my son's life. I am scared that he will find out where I live. I believe he could kill me and my son."

Ali pleaded guilty to a charge of causing the woman to fear that violence would be used against her by his course of conduct and sending messages threatening to kill the woman and her son.

Bolton Crown Court was told that Ali had "misunderstood" the situation, and that he had suffered from depression and had been taking medication.

But Recorder Mark Ainsworth said he could not accept that his medication was a factor in him committing the offences.

The court also heard that since moving to the UK from Iran at the age of 19 and subsequently gaining citizenship, Ali had no previous convictions and had worked for all of his time in this country.

Ali, of South Street, Great Lever, was sentenced to 10 months in prison, and must pay a victim surcharge of £100.

Addressing Ali, Recorder Ainsworth said: "She was plainly terrified due to your conduct.

"Whilst there was no direct physical assault on her, the texts were there for her to read and for to contemplate as to what might happen."