A window cleaner who “stomped” on his girlfriend’s wrist breaking it in two places after ripping out her earrings has been jailed 16 months.

Jailing Thomas O’Neill, of Findell Drive, Bramford, at Ipswich Crown Court Judge Rupert Overbury said: “It’s clear to me that the stamp on her wrist was not just you kicking out in a reckless fashion in the general area of where she was laying on the floor, but you stamped on her wrist.

“You may not have intended to cause her serious injury. You had been drinking and tempers were frayed at the time, but you stamped on her wrist while she was laying on the floor.”

Judge Overbury added he was satisfied the 35-year-old was remorseful and acknowledged O’Neill had told the probation service in a pre-sentence report that he felt awful about what happened and “no woman deserves that”.

O’Neill had admitted grievous bodily harm at an earlier hearing.

His counsel Roger Thomson told the court: “He accepts it was not just an accident. He didn’t intend to cause the serious injury that he did. It was a single strike. It was the end of the relationship after that.

“He’s deeply ashamed of what he’s done.”

Prosecutor Jo Eley said the incident had occurred on June 13, although the events of the previous day had led up to it.

At the time O’Neill’s 29-year-old girlfriend had been with him for five years.

His now ex-partner told police that during their relationship O’Neill had been physically aggressive around 10 times, the judge was told.

On June 12 the couple went out for a drink. However, the evening ended in an argument which led to O’Neill becoming abusive.

Miss Eley said when the couple returned home O’Neill dragged his girlfriend around the floor by the hair, punched her on the nose, choked her and screamed in her face.

He then went to bed taking her door keys so she could not leave the house.

At 4am she was awoken by him screaming at her.

Miss Eley said the woman remained trapped in the house all the next day. While O’Neill was asleep and she grabbed her belongings and went to a friend’s house.

However, there was no answer and O’Neill turned up in his Ford Focus telling her to get in the car while screaming and shouting at her.

Miss Eley said once they got home O’Neill ripped her earrings out and when she was on the floor he “stomped” on her right wrist while wearing trainers, breaking it in two places.