An army veteran who violently attacked his partner a few months after he was released from prison for a previous attack on her has been locked up again.

Steven Files flew into a jealous rage when he returned to the woman’s home after spending the night drinking while watching England lose the Euro 2024 final on July 14.

The 36-year-old reacted angrily to a comment he believed had been made towards his victim before ripping the flesh inside her mouth as she tried to scream for help while trapped inside her Darlington home.

Teesside Crown Court heard how Files grabbed the woman twice around the throat after he grabbed her mobile phone off her but she managed to break free and try to get help.

Cole Cockburn, prosecuting, said: “She opened the window and screamed out for help, he came behind her and placed his hands inside her mouth and pulled each corner, pulling her head backwards and ripping the inside of her mouth.

“During the struggle that followed, the victim’s hair extensions were pulled out.”

A neighbour called the police and when they arrived at her home, they discovered her covered in blood.

In October last year, the defendant was sentenced to a total of 64 weeks after he twice strangled her and broke a police officer’s leg when they tried to arrest him.

Steven FilesSteven Files (Image: Durham Constabulary)

Files, of no fixed abode, was found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm following a trial at magistrates’ court.

Reece Williams, mitigating, said his client had been in the army for six years and served tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He said: “He explains to me that things he has seen had somewhat of a traumatic impact on him, namely the violence associated with war.”

The court heard how he suffered hearing loss as the result of combat in Iraq and then faced the trauma of taking a colleague home after he was killed during an ambush while he was serving in Afghanistan.

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The defendant read out a letter to his victim where he apologised for his violent behaviour towards her.

Judge Richard Bennett branded Files a danger to the public as he locked him up for 28 months.

He said: “When police attended, they found the victim covered in blood with obvious injuries with blood throughout the home and on furniture.

“By that time, you had made good your escape.”