Drinker hit girlfriend; COURT: Partner hurt in two separate attacks.

Byline: By Ron Warrilow

A MAN who twice attacked his partner after he had been drinking heavily has been given a 12-month jail sentence suspended for two years.

Derek Grice left Claire Weaver nursing a split lip after the first attack in which he punched her in the face, said Alison Scott-Jones, prosecuting.

In the second attack 30- year-old Grice kicked her three times about the body after complaining she had not got his meal ready when he returned to their home.

Grice admitted assault causing actual bodily harm and common assault and he was told by Recorder Anwar Nawaz: "She was not your punching bag."

He said Grice, a man with a previous conviction for another assault on his partner, was guilty of a "persistent course of conduct."

Grice, of Hannah Road, Bilston, was also made the subject of a two-year supervision order.

Gareth Walters, defending, told Wolverhampton Crown Court that Grice had finally accepted he had a serious drink problem and he was determined to take steps to resolve the situation.

He said Grice and Miss Weaver had lived together in an "excitable" household and stressed their relationship had now come to an end, cancelling out the risk of future trouble.

"These two assaults were spontaneous and the injuries he caused were relatively minor," Mr Walters told the court.