A Falmouth man has admitted an assault after a row over a rucksack containing cider.

The assault was sparked by a row about whether or not he could take a rucksack from a woman when they were both at hospital waiting for treatment for a young girl.

The court heard that Graham Whiteley, 42, of Meadowbank Road, grabbed the older woman around the throat and told her: “You are dead.”

Whiteley pleaded guilty at Truro Magistrates’ Court  to assaulting Naomi Saunders on September 16 and to breaching bail.

Alison May, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said that on the morning of the offence Whiteley had drunk about five pints of cider and there was more cider in the rucksack. Tired of waiting for hospital treatment, he told his partner he was going home and wanted to take the rucksack with the drink in it.

Ms Saunders said it was hers and had her belongings in it and refused, at which point Whiteley assaulted her, squeezing her throat.

He had breached bail by contacting Ms Saunders against a court condition, and breached previous convictions including a caution for assaulting the same victim.

Deborah Von Kohler, his solicitor, said Whiteley and Ms Saunders had been in an on and off relationship for some years. On this day they had both been drinking. They had gone together to the hospital with the girl and had argued over the rucksack.

Whiteley’s case was adjourned to October 7 for action and probation reports and he was remanded in custody.