AN estranged lover was jailed last night after he punched his former girlfriend in the face when he found her in bed with a new partner.

Roofer Lee Clarey used a ladder to gain entry to an upstairs bedroom window at the home of his former partner, Samantha Turnbull, in Bishop Auckland, County Durham.

Teesside Crown Court heard that, after discovering she was in bed with the couple's mutual friend, Karl Durkin, Clarey punched her.

Miss Turnbull, 28, who lived in the town's Murray Avenue, needed a steel plate fitted in her face after the blow fractured her cheekbone in two places.

She also had to spend time in hospital following the attack on Sunday, August 31, said Shaun Dodds, prosecuting.

He told the court that Clarey and Miss Turnbull had been together for four years before financial problems between the pair led to arguments and the break up of their relationship.

Clarey was asked to leave four days before the attack took place and Miss Turnbull began a relationship with Mr Durkin, 20.

"He walked into the master bedroom and woke up Samantha Turnbull and Karl Durkin, who was in bed with her," said Mr Dodds.

"Mr Durkin was asked to leave the room. Upon him leaving, the defendant punched Miss Turnbull, landing a blow to the right side of her face."

In police interviews, Clarey, of Hall Lane Estate, Willington, County Durham, said he had lashed out because he had been trying to protect himself.

Robin Turton, in mitigation, said: "This defendant is extremely sorry about what happened. He accepts it was foolish and stupid of him to go to the house, but, once there, he believed he may have been under threat of being assaulted."

Clarey was sent to prison for 12 months after he pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm.