A MAN with a history of domestic violence attacked his partner with a pair of garden shears when he learned she was to be evicted from her home, a court heard.

Convicted rapist James Grieves chased his partner down the street and threw the garden shears at her as she fled, hitting her in the buttock.

The victim told police that Grieves became highly agitated on learning she had been served with an eviction notice, on April 13 this year.

Durham Crown Court heard that in an initial confrontation he grabbed her outside her home and dragged her into the property, in Pelton, near Chester-le-Street, where there was an angry exchange.

She left five minutes later, followed by Grieves, who was carrying a large pair of garden shears.

Liam O’Brien, prosecuting, said he chased her down the road, and threw the shears in her direction.

They struck the fleeing woman on the buttock, causing her injury, and he then slapped her across the face and pulled her hair.

Mr O’Brien said it was witnessed by a neighbour who reported the incident to police and when they arrived the victim gave her “reluctant” version of events to officers.

He told the court that Grieves, aged 27, has 18 convictions covering a total of 40 offences, including five previous common assaults committed during a former relationship in which he had punched, slapped and threw items at an ex-partner.

But, Mr O’Brien said his record also includes a conviction for rape, for which Grieves received an eight-year prison sentence back in 2012.

Appearing by video link from nearby Durham Prison, Grieves, formerly of The Wynd, Pelton, admitted charges of assault by beating and possessing an offensive weapon, namely the garden shears, in public, arising from the recent incident.

Tony Davis, mitigating, told the court that there was little point adjourning for a pre-sentence report as the defendant has been recalled to prison to serve the outstanding part of the eight-year jail term for the 2012 rape conviction.

“It’s what is known as a ‘full-term recall’, and his earliest release date is not until December 2019.

“As the maximum sentences for the latest offences are six months and four years, respectively, after trial, the reality is that the full sentence passed today is unlikely to extend beyond that.

Jailing him for 18 months, Judge Christopher Prince told Grieves given his record, it would have been a two-year sentence, but for his early ‘guilty’ pleas.