A DRUNK who beat his partner with a baseball bat in a dispute over a can of cider has been jailed for eight months.

Colin John Whitehouse struck Julie Potts with the bat three times after she refused to get him a can of cider.

Teesside Crown Court was told the 36-year-old was an alcoholic who became violent towards his partner when in drink.

Whitehouse, of Humber Close, Loftus, east Cleveland, had drunk eight litres of cider on the night before the attack, said Sarah Mallett, prosecuting.

At about 6am on February 3, a neighbour became aware of a commotion in the flat where Whitehouse lived with his partner and later saw him threaten Miss Potts with the bat in the street, before forcing her back inside.

Police found Miss Potts crouched in a corner of the flat, blood pouring from a wound in her head.

Whitehouse, who admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm, was said to have carried on drinking when his partner had fallen asleep and had woken her up demanding she get him a can of cider.

She refused, causing them to argue, and was collecting clothes together to leave when she was confronted by Whitehouse with the baseball bat.

Whitehouse was jailed for 18 months in February last year for a separate offence of wounding.

His counsel, David Lamb said: "Put bluntly, he is an alcoholic. He and Miss Potts get drunk together, they argue and on occasions these arguments turn to violence."