A violent thug who repeatedly battered his girlfriend has been locked up for almost five years for inflicting a campaign of abuse against the woman.

Mark Yates launched his first brutal assault when he was challenged about receiving messages from another woman, Teesside Crown Court heard.

His reign of abuse finally came to an end after fellow passengers on a bus to Scarborough reported his violent assault to police.

On the first occasion, the 41-year-old repeatedly punched his victim in the face as she curled up into a ball to protect herself from him.

A week later, Yates kicked his victim in the chest several times as she tried to get her mobile phone out of his grasp, said Jonathan Gittins, prosecuting.

Mr Gittins said the assault left the woman needing medical treatment and her explanation that she fell down the stairs did not convince medical staff.

The next assault happened on May 2, the lawyer said: “He got up and punched her numerous times to the face, she was grabbed by the hair and some of it came out.”

Mr Gittins said the following day, the pair were on the bus heading to the waterpark in Scarborough when the defendant started hitting the woman again.

He added: “He was caught on CCTV pushing her a number of times before striking her a number of times to the face.”

After other passengers called the police, the couple were found at the waterpark and Yates was arrested and charged.

Mark YatesMark Yates (Image: Cleveland Police)

Yates, of Mulgrave Road, Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to controlling and coercive behaviour between December 22 and July 2023, and four charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm between March and May 2023.

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Benjamin Bell, mitigating, said his client had suffered the loss of three people, including his sister, around the time of the offending and had served the equivalent time of a 15-month prison sentence while on remand.

Recorder Paul Reid locked the violent Hartlepool man up for a total of 59 months for all offences.

“You were abusive to her, you had random outbursts, called her names - you denigrated her and belittled her,” he said.

“These photographs show utterly dreadful injuries to this young woman all inflicted by you.”