A drunken thug who repeatedly punched his girlfriend in the face before attempting to strangle her has narrowly avoided prison due to ‘current circumstances’.

John Bell downed 15 cans of beers, two thirds of a bottle of red wine and a large gin before launching the violent attack on his partner of two years.

The 48-year-old called the woman a ‘slag’ before punching her at least six times and then grabbing her throat and pinning her to the wall.

Shaun Dryden, prosecuting, said the defendant had a history of domestic violence with two previous convictions on his record for attacking former partners.

“He called her a slag and accused her of cheating on him,” he said. “He followed her into the kitchen where he punches her six times to the face.

“He then puts both hands around her neck, pushes her to the wall and begins to strangle her.

“He then punches her to the face twice more.”

In a victim impact statement, the Middlesbrough woman said she had been left traumatised by the attack.

Bell, of Smithfield Road, Darlington, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and intentional strangulation following the violence on October 21 last year.

Chris Baker, mitigating, said his client had already started taking steps to address his alcohol problem and accepts that his pre-sentence report does raise some concern.

“He is a very basic man and doesn’t express himself particularly well and he understands there was some confusion with them,” he said.

“I would submit that you have to take into account there is genuine recognition that he needs to change his lifestyle and he has taken steps to address his previous behaviour.”

Judge Chris Smith, sitting at Teesside Crown Court, told the defendant he had taken the ‘exceptional’ decision not to imprison him immediately due to the ‘current circumstances’ and passed a suspended sentence.

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He said: “I’m not sure any judge in this building would have given you a suspended sentence for this sort of offending. I am sure that nobody will if you offend again.

“I will reserve any breach to myself, I couldn’t face the embarrassment of it going before another judge for them to say ‘what on earth was Judge Smith doing issuing a suspended sentence?’.

“Hopefully, it won’t come to that. Don’t come back, that’s your best choice.”

Bell was sentenced to 18 months in custody suspended for 18 month as well as being ordered to attend 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days and carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.