A 20-year-old man has been sentenced to three months in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting a woman and threatening to slit her throat.

Darren McGrath, who has no fixed abode, admitted the offences in Derry Magistrates' Court.

The court heard that on 16 May police received a report from a woman who said she had been walking with friends on Strand Road when McGrath approached the group, verbally abused her and threatened to slit her throat.

He then slapped the woman on the back of her head.

McGrath gave a no-comment interview after his arrest.

Defence counsel told the court that McGrath accepted full responsibility for his actions and had been caught in a cycle of repeated imprisonment.

District Judge Suzanne Rice imposed the three-month sentence, noting that the defendant had chosen to remain in that cycle.