A PREGNANT woman who smashed a plate and threatened her partner with a broken piece before punching him in the face several times has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Paige Dorrell attacked the man for a second time when she asked him what he wanted as a Valentine’s present and he replied – ‘you to be nice to me for a month’, Teesside Crown Court heard.

The 22-year-old launched both assaults in January this year as their 18-month relationship spiralled into domestic violence.

Jenny Haigh, prosecuting, said the defendant was 11-weeks pregnant at the time of the incidents and their ‘tempestuous’ relationship had been difficult at times.

She said the pair argued while they were at the victim’s home in Stockton and it became ‘more and more heated’ and she threw a broken dinner plate at him causing a cut to his head.

“The plate fell to the floor and broke,” she added. “She picked up a broken piece and he went into the bathroom to let her calm down.

“He was trying to get dressed when she approached him and punched him five times to the head; he then went to walk downstairs and at this point, with the piece of broken plate in her hand, she started to swipe at him.”

The defendant then threw the broken plate at him.

She added: “He told her she had cut his head and she replied ‘I don’t care. I hope you die.”

Miss Haigh said the second incident took place a few weeks later when they were talking about Valentine’s presents and his flippant response ‘did not go down well’ and they began to argue.

She said Dorrell threw a can of pop at him before hitting him in the face with the contents of a bottle of contact lens solution before again punching him.

Dorrell, of Marton Road, Marton, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault.

Paul Green, in mitigation, said there was a history of domestic abuse in the relationship perpetrated by the victim, which had not been reported to the police and there had been no further incidents since January.

He added: “As she stands back and reflects, she now understands that he main priority now is the baby when it is born and she needs to put things in place and lives independently.”

Judge Recorder Andrew Sutcliffe QC sentenced the defendant to eight months in custody, suspended for 12 months.

He said: “I bear in mind what is stated in the pre-sentence report about the difficulties in your relationship with your partner and the fact that you yourself, although you haven’t complained to the police, have been subjected to what appears to be serious violence and although it doesn’t excuse your conduct, I have to bear in mind this was not an easy relationship for you.”

Dorrell was also ordered to carry out 20 rehabilitation activity requirements days and an eight-month community order.