A man who was jailed after a campaign of harassment against his ex-girlfriend ended in him dumping a can of lager over her head in a busy street lost an appeal against his sentence yesterday.

Daniel Nathan Guminski, 29, of Brixton Road, Watford, should not have been anywhere near Nicole Bousefield when he swore at her and poured the lager on her head last August.

He admitted breaching a restraining order, imposed for previously harassing Miss Bousefield, and was jailed for 18 months at St Albans Crown Court in September.

Yesterday he was told by three judges led by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, that there was nothing wrong with the 18-month term.

Mr Justice Openshaw, sitting at the Court of Appealwith Lord Judge and Mr Justice Holman, said Guminski had already been jailed for harassing his former partner.

On August 11 last year, while subject to the restraining order, he telephoned Miss Bousefield while she was shopping in Watford town centre.

When she walked out of the shop, Guminski was there. He walked over to her, swore and then poured the contents of the can of lager over her.

Miss Bousefield said she had felt embarrassed by what happened, because there were many other people in the street staring at them.

Guminski's lawyers argued that a sentence of longer than 12 months was not necessary and so the 18-month term was "manifestly excessive".

But rejecting the appeal, Mr Justice Openshaw said: "Restraining orders are intended to afford effective protection to those under threat.

"Those who repeatedly breach those orders, thereby causing distress to the victims, must understand that serious consequences will follow."