A thug who left his partner fearing for her life as he strangled on her bed when he ‘completely lost it’ has been locked up for two years.
Mark Stokes attacked the woman when they got home from a night out in March this year after they argued in a restaurant.
Teesside Crown Court heard the victim called 999 and told the operator that Stokes was ‘trying to kill her’ before police arrived at her flat in Middlesbrough.
Jenny Haigh, prosecuting, said: “They had gone out for a meal, he had drunk too much and they started to argue and he was angry. She left the restaurant and he followed her out but he refused to get in the car.
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“She went home to bed and 20 minutes later he came into the bedroom and he called her names – calling her a ‘slag and a piece of shit’ – she then alleges that he grabbed her and pulled her across the bed by her hair, straddled her and put his hands around her neck, strangling her.”
Miss Haigh said Stokes grabbed her hand before violently bending her fingers back.
The 49-year-old smashed up the woman’s flat as he left the scene, including damaging a television and mirror.
In a victim personal statement, the woman said he was left suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and suffering from anxiety and flashbacks.
Stokes, of Roseberry Road, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and criminal damage following his violent outburst.
Stephen Constantine, in mitigation, said his client had served in the armed forces and had managed to stay out of trouble for a number of years before the assault in March when he ‘completely lost it’.
He added: “He wishes to seek help, he doesn’t want to put himself or anyone else in the same position in which he now finds himself.”
Recorder Jeremy Barnett locked Stokes up for two-years for the violent unprovoked attack.
He added: “You totally lost control and you strangled her for a long period of time. I have seen the photographs of her injuries, there is substantial bruising to her neck and injuries to her fingers.
“She thought you were going to kill her.”
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