A BRUTE who left his girlfriend scarred for life when he savagely sunk his teeth into her face told police: "I'm a monster when I'm drunk."

Tony Lunn's terrified and bloodied partner fled into the street semi-naked to escape the late-night attack at their home in Darlington.

She grabbed their dog, and a duvet to cover herself, when she managed to wriggle free from the violent 33-year-old barber last month.

Yesterday, Lunn was locked up for two years and was told by a Teesside Crown Court judge: "She was at your mercy and you showed her none."

Lunn bit the woman's face after they argued and she refused to leave the house when he ordered her to, said prosecutor Harry Hadfield.

She recalls being out in the street but does not remember how she got there, and was grabbed by the hair and dragged along the road.

Neighbours heard Lunn threatening to kill his victim and saw him pull her off the ground by the throat before they ended up back inside.

Lunn - who has more than a dozen previous convictions for serious violence - was naked apart from an electronic tag around his ankle.

The court heard he was on a suspended prison sentence imposed in July for an unprovoked attack on a man in the street outside his home.

His girlfriend fled in fear after escaping Lunn's clutches and ran to a neighbour's house where the police were called, said Mr Hadfield.

She had what was described as "an obvious indentation" on her forehead above her left eye, and a bleeding bite mark on her left cheek.

Hospital doctors also found multiple bruises and grazes on her face, scalp and body, and she continued to have recurring headaches.

When Lunn was shown photographs of the injuries by police, he said he was disgusted with himself, and added: "I'm a monster in drink."

In an impact statement, the victim said the humiliation of finding herself half-naked in the street caused "a great deal of distress".

The 25-year-old said Lunn was "reasonable" when he had not been drinking, and told how she had a lot of affection for him.

The judge, Recorder Toby Wynn, told Lunn, of Derwent Street: "This was a mindless, drunken attack which you carried out on your partner.

"Looking at you, you are a physically strong male. Looking at your partner [who was in court to see him jailed], she is a frail female.

"This was a sufficiently severe attack for her to feel obliged to run naked from the waist down into the street to get away from you.

"You grabbed her by the face and bit her on the cheek, an extraordinary thing to do, and you should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself.

"The psychological harm often exceeds the physical harm, but in this case you have permanently disfigured your victim in a prominent place.

"What your record tells me is that when you get drunk you become violent and are either unable or unwilling to modify your behaviour.

"You are well aware of that characteristic so must bear full responsibility for the consequences of your actions because you repeatedly get drunk."

Tom Mitchell, mitigating, said: "He has only got himself to blame for how he turns when he drinks because he has certain medical conditions.

"When he drinks a lot, the devil takes hold of him and he ends up behaving in a dreadful way. He knows because he has done it before."

Mr Mitchell said Lunn, who admitted a charge of unlawful wounding, is "desperately sorry" for attacking and disfiguring the brunette.

The court heard how his first brush with the law as a juvenile resulted in a four-year sentence for an offence of attempted robbery.

Lunn has also been locked up in the past for wounding, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray, Mr Hadfield told the judge.

Mr Mitchell said he learned to be a barber during one spell behind bars, and is hoping to seek help from an alcohol team this time.

"He wants to see an end to what appears to be an almost continual cycle of going to jail," Mr Mitchell said. "He has an unenviable record.

"There is no future for him unless he pulls his socks up."