A WOMAN was left battered and bruised after being attacked by her brutal ex-boyfriend with a scaffolding pole, a court heard.

William Stewart attacked the mother-of-two after accusing her of having a new boyfriend - two years after they had split up.

The 29-year-old invited his former partner into his home in east Cleveland after seeing her in the street last September.

But once inside the flat in Loftus, angry Stewart demanded to know who she had been seeing, Teesside Crown Court was told yesterday (Wednesday, April 8).

Prosecutor David Crook said he appeared to be unhappy about another man being around his children, and launched his attack.

He got the two-foot piece of pole from under a sofa, and smashed her in the face with it, said Mr Crook - a claim Stewart denies.

Mr Crook said the woman blacked out before being hit a further four times, and Stewart then threw a motorbike helmet at her.

Defence lawyer Andrew Turton said the pole was used only to strike her body, and she would have suffered far more serious injuries than a black eye if she had been battered in the face with it.

The court heard how the victim also had extensive bruising to her arms, chest and back when she was examined five days later.

In a statement, she said the relationship ended because of Stewart's violence, and her confidence has been "totally destroyed".

Mr Turton told the court that his client needed help for his "inherited or learned behaviour" rather than a prison sentence.

"Unhappily, it is not a case where I can stand and say he is full of remorse, he is a changed man and means well for the future.

"He is somebody, potentially, who could be given a chance to help solve the deep-seated issues he has," said Mr Turton.

Stewart, of West Road, Loftus, admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was given a 12-month suspended sentence.

The judge, Recorder Martin Bethel, QC, also ordered him to go to anger-management classes and do 100 hours' unpaid work.

He told Stewart: "You have come as close as any man could to going to prison, please take the chance I am giving you."