A FORMER covert firearms officer has escaped immediate jail time after he strangled his wife - because he had the “decency” to call 999.

Pere Daobry, who worked for the Met Police for 12 years, set upon Sarah Jay in the bedroom after the pair had been arguing.

During the minute-long attack on Mrs Jay, a former Essex Police sergeant, he used two hands to strangle her after she told him she did not love him anymore.

Immediately after the attack, the 44-year-old called the police and told the 999 call handler: “I want to report an assault and I am the perpetrator.

“I have assaulted my wife.”

When asked by the operator if his wife needed an ambulance, the dad-of-four responded: “Yeah, I tried to strangle her.”

However Daobry - who was married to Mrs Jay for two years before the attack - went on to deny the assault but was found guilty after a trial. He claimed to have used a police-approved choke hold to stop Mrs Jay from taking an overdose of prescribed tablets.

But magistrates rejected his evidence “entirely” and found him guilty of assault.

Yesterday, another Colchester Magistrates’ Court bench sentenced him to 12 weeks in prison, suspended for one year.

Alix Mason, chair of the bench, said Daobry’s sentence would be suspended because he had no previous convictions and had “the decency” to dial 999 to report the crime.

She said: “This was a very unpleasant assault on Mrs Jay and she was clearly terrified.

“There is no credit for an early guilty plea. Having said that, we do take note you have no previous convictions and you had the decency to ring 999.”

She also ordered Daobry to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and approved a year-long restraining order. He must also pay a total of £1,665, including £930 in compensation to Sarah Jay and £620 in court costs.

Simon Ralph, mitigating, told the court he accepted the custody threshold had been passed but asked the bench to consider suspending the sentence.

He added the couple’s marriage had “started in auspicious circumstances and had got worse for there” after a drawn out employment tribunal between Mrs Jay and Essex Police put strain on the relationship.

Daobry also lost his job at Scotland Yard last year and fell into depression. Soon after, he left the UK for Australia but returned after six months and began living with Mrs Jay and her daughter in Landermere Road, Thorpe-le-Soken, where the attack took place on December 27 last year.

During the attack, Mrs Jay suffered scratches on her neck, pain to her neck, scratches on her back, swelling on her forehead and spotting in her eyes.