Louth man 'disgusted with himself' after assaulting girlfriend, court told

Nicholas Richard Myers of Queensway, had admitted assaulting Claire Hewson by beating and damaging a glass panel in a door at Louth Library at a previous hearing and was appearing for sentence at Skegness Magistrates Court.

Prosecuting, Dan Pietryka said that on January 23 he and his girlfriend had been using a public computer at Louth Library in Northgate and he had kicked a glass door panel on the way out as he was having an argument with her.

He told police he had had some bad news on Facebook while he was in the library.

At 2am on February 19, while he was on bail for the damage offence, police were called to Monks Dyke Road after Myers had grabbed Ms Hewson around her throat and headbutted and punched her in the face, leaving her with a bloodied nose and bruised face.

Mr Pietryka said the couple had been in a relationship for about eight months and the attack had come when they had had an argument after an evening’s drinking although Myers told police he could only remember pushing her.

Mr Pietryka said Myers was on a community order until December 2016 for assault.

Mitigating, Philippa Chatterton said Myers had been told on Facebook that his sister was using heroin and cocaine and he hadn’t enough money to go and see her and it was after that he had kicked the door at the library.

She said Myers accepted he was ‘quite drunk’ when he assaulted his girlfriend and that a ‘red mist had descended’.

She said he was ‘visibly upset’ when he saw photographs of what he had done and was ‘disgusted with himself’ and had since given up drinking altogether.

She said a report from the Probation Service showed he ‘was not doing very well’ on his community order and was ‘frightened of going into custody’.

Myers sobbed as the magistrates imposed a 16 week prison sentence suspended for two years, and told him this was his ‘last chance saloon’ and he had ‘come very close to going straight into custody’.

He was also ordered to carry out 25 days of rehabilitation activity and a building better relationship scheme, as well as £245 compensation for the damage and £100 compensation to Ms Hewson.