A CIRCUS clown has been jailed for two years after punching his girlfriend when she refused to watch him perform in the big top.
Gavin Riley expected Christine Pearson to travel to shows with him - but his live-in girlfriend became bored with watching him capering around the ring in oversized shoes and comedy wig.
So, when he accepted a job in Bedford, she said she would stay at their Newcastle home.
Enraged Riley, 37, punched her in the face in a McDonald's restaurant. He was arrested when a subsequent row led to a more serious assault.
At Newcastle Crown Court, Riley, of Shipley Walk, Byker, Newcastle, pleaded guilty to wounding and was jailed for two years, with a four-month sentence for common assault to be served concurrently.
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