AN EVESHAM man who attacked his pregnant girlfriend after accusing her of cheating has been handed a suspended prison sentence.

Ashleigh Booth of Merstow Green appeared before Worcester magistrates after admitting assaulting Charlotte Howard on Sunday, November 23, last year and damaging toys belonging to her 10-year-old daughter and other items.

Prosecutor Owen Beale said the pair had been together for about four years at the time of the attack.

Miss Howard had gone out with friends, leaving 22-year-old Booth at home.

Mr Beale said she came home early on Sunday morning and fell asleep on her daughter’s bed, only to be woken by Booth shouting: “You’ve been cheating, where’s the ring?”

He then pushed her onto the bed, held her up against the wall by her neck and spat into her face. She retaliated by spitting back in his face, but he punched her in the jaw.

Although she ran out of the house and shouted to a neighbour for help, Booth dragged her back inside before going into the kitchen and smashing items, including toys belonging to Miss Howard’s daughter, a microwave, a chopping board and the wall.

Mr Beale said: “It was then he phoned the police and said ‘I’ve beat up my girlfriend’.”

Chris Hilton, defending, said the couple had since reconciled to some degree, although were no longer in a relationship, and Booth, who suffers from mental health problems, had expressed regret for his actions.

“There is a degree of controlling attitude,” he said.

“He had never physically hurt her in the past, but there had been a bit of verbal abuse.

“But she says in the months before this incident, the relationship between them had been markedly improved.”

Deputy District Judge Jim Tindall told unemployed Booth, an unemployed labourer, he considered the matter extremely serious.

“One of the most telling parts of this rather sad story is that you phoned the police yourself,” he said. “I think probably what may have been going through your mind is a sense of dawning realisation of what you had done and a shock at how you had behaved.”

Mr Tindall handed him a four-month prison term, suspended for 12 months, as well as a 12-month community order with 100 hours of unpaid work, He also ordered Booth to pay £200 compensation to Miss Howard’s daughter for destroying her toys and £85 court costs.

“You should think yourself lucky that this lady thinks enough of you that she feels able to reconcile with you,” he said.