A man who ‘beat the s***’ out of his partner just two weeks after being released from prison has found himself behind bars again.

Mark Learoyd punched his victim up to 30 times when he lost his temper after she told him she needed some space for an hour.

The 47-year-old launched the violent attack in his Darlington home before threatening another woman with a knife after he grabbed it out of her kitchen drawer.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the second woman suffered injuries to her hands when she grabbed the knife off Learoyd.

Elisha Marsay, prosecuting, said the defendant’s partner told police about the assault on her when they came to the house after they were called about him brandishing the knife.

“She fully disclosed to the police what had happened,” she said. “She told them ‘he beat the s*** out of her’ in response to her saying she wanted her own space for an hour.”

Miss Marsay said the defendant told his victim that he hadn’t really been hitting her when punching her up to 30 times adding that he could have knocked her out with one punch.

The court heard how he also told his victim that he ‘wanted to cut her head off’.

She added: “She was vulnerable being a lone female in her own home, she attempted to leave but the defendant stopped her from doing so.”

Mark LearoydMark Learoyd (Image: Durham Constabulary)

Learoyd, of Brook Terrace, Darlington, pleaded guilty to assault by beating and threatening a person with a knife on May 12 this year.

The court heard how he had previous convictions for domestic violence and had been subject of two domestic violence protection orders.

Martin Scarborough, mitigating, said his client had a longstanding alcohol problem which was at the root of his offending and accepts that he was heavily intoxicated at the time of his latest offending.

He added: “He had the good sense to plead guilty at the lower court.”

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Judge Timothy Stead told the defendant his history of domestic abuse convictions was an aggravating factor in his case.

He said: “You were released from your last sentence, which was a sentence of nine months for making threats with a bladed article and beating, two weeks before the matters you are being sentenced for.

“In her own words you ‘beat the s*** out of her’ for asking for an hour for herself.”

Learoyd was jailed for a total of 18 months for both offences.