A CRACK cocaine addict who “bombarded” two people with demands for cash to feed his drug habit has been jailed for more than two years at Bradford Crown Court.

Michael Carter used “emotional blackmail and manipulation” in his demands for money, at one point holding a knife to his throat and threatening to throw himself off a bridge on another occasion unless his victims complied.

He also threatened to burn down the home of one of his victims and to set fire to their car.

Carter, 23, of no fixed abode in Bradford, had previously pleaded guilty to harassment, fraud, and theft. He appeared via video link from HMP Leeds.

Prosecutor Emily Hassell told the court that Carter was released from prison last year and contacted the two people asking for money to fund his addiction and to settle debts.

He contacted one victim ten times a day with persistent demands for money, and over one two-week period made 600 attempts to contact them.

His calls and messages became more abusive as their ability to provide money became more difficult, prompting him to threaten to set fire to their house, and their car.

Miss Hassell said Carter would visit the second victim’s home up to seven times a day and would call, text, or message them by phone ten times a day.

He would bang on their windows or press the buzzer until he gained access to their home, behaviour they described as “torture”, and said he would “become irate” if they did not give him money immediately.

Miss Hassell said: “On one occasion [the victim] refused to give the defendant money and he held a knife to his throat and threatened to harm himself.”

At 1am on November 8 last year Carter turned up at the victim’s home and demanded money. When they were unable to oblige, he took their mobile phone. The next day they found £151 had been transferred to his account. 

Later in the month he stole the first victim’s phone from a car and transferred £276 from their bank account.

Carter was arrested on November 23. During interview he answered “no comment” to all questions.

Mitigating, Camille Morland said Carter’s addiction was the root of the situation that had played out, and that he was “a different person” when in the grip of his drug addiction.

She said his physical and mental health had improved whilst in custody, and that he was “horrified” at how he had behaved.

Sentencing Carter to 28 months in prison for what he described as “a dreadful series of offences” Mr Recorder Paul Reid said his actions had caused “serious distress” to his victims.

He added: “You are only 23 years of age and you have let your life fall apart completely by an utterly grievous addiction to crack cocaine, which you fuelled by spending up to £200 a day [on it].

“It beggars belief how you managed to obtain that amount of money apart from the method which you tried to employ in the course of this appalling series of events.”