A THUG labelled extremely dangerous after he battered several women was given an extended sentence of four years yesterday for the protection of the public.

The judge said that that security camera footage he watched in court of Stephen Jones punching and kicking a former girlfriend outside a nightclub was among the most horrific he had ever seen.

Jones, 28, who was said to suffer from steroid rage after mixing the bodybuilder drugs with alcohol, was with a new girlfriend when he targeted Leanne Foster as she left the Fat Cat's Club, in South Bank, Middlesbrough.

She had ended an eight-month relationship with him in March because of his violent behaviour, and when he saw her he told her: "You are going to lose some teeth."

The video footage at Teesside Crown Court showed Jones grab her by her clothing and hair and drag her into the road, where he punched her head, causing her to fall.

Harry Hadfield, prosecuting, said that, as she lay there, Jones punched her seven times, kicked her in the face and then hit her three more times before dragging her along the road by her hair.

Her boots fell off leaving her with cuts to her feet - and as people tried to help her one was knocked to the ground.

Ms Foster suffered 12 injuries, including two cuts to the top of her head, scratches and bruises to her back and arms, a bloody nose, an earring ripped off through the lobe, and hair pulled out, before three police vehicles arrived and Jones was put into a police van.

Then, while he was on bail, Jones battered his new girlfriend Sarah Gallagher who had appeared with him on the CCTV video.

They were in bed at his home when he became angry after seeing her former boyfriend in a pub earlier, and, as they argued, he punched her in the right eye, fracturing the socket.

A month before the South Bank attack, he had appeared before Teesside magistrates for battery of a then girlfriend and was sentenced to 24 months supervision and ordered to attend a domestic violence course.

Jones, of Redcar Road East, South Bank, was given an extended sentence of four years with two years in prison followed by two years on licence after he pleaded guilty to the two actual bodily harm assaults.

Richard Bennett, mitigating, said that Jones blamed his behaviour on steroid rage and said he was still a young man with a limited record for violence.

Judge George Moorhouse told Jones: "I am satisfied that the three convictions you have against your partners show that you are extremely dangerous and show a high risk of offending when it comes to girlfriends, especially ex-girlfriends.

"You are a significant risk to members of the public and you might cause them serious harm."