A former Suffolk man who repeatedly hit his partner with a belt after accusing her of having an affair with another woman has been locked up for 64 weeks.

Vasile Dobre had taken the belt from a wardrobe and created a loop with it before repeatedly striking his partner all over her body, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

The victim, who was in pyjama bottoms and a vest top, was shouting for help and during the attack Dobre had sworn at her and called her a “whore”, said Claire Matthews, prosecuting.

She said Dobre and his partner had been living with a female friend and her husband after moving to the UK from Spain and Dobre had accused his partner of having a relationship with her.

The attack with the belt, which took place on December 21 2020, had ended when the woman they were living with had intervened and taken the victim away.

After the incident Dobre had apologised and asked for forgiveness, but his partner made up her mind to leave him and return to Spain.

A week later Dobre’s partner and the woman they were living with returned from a shopping trip and found Dobre drinking whisky from a bottle.

His partner decided to sleep downstairs and Dobre had reacted by grabbed her by the hair and pulling her to the ground before hitting her face, causing an injury to her eye.

When the woman they were staying with tried to intervene, Dobre accused her of being in a relationship with his partner and made some inappropriate remarks to her, said Miss Matthews.

When she challenged him, Dobre had grabbed her clothing and hit her in the face.

Meanwhile, Dobre’s partner went into the street and told a neighbour what had happened and the police were called.

Following his arrest, Dobre had left a series of voicemails on his partner’s phone.

Dobre, 45, of Upper Tichborne Street, Leicester, admitted assaulting his partner causing her actual bodily harm, two offences of common assault and intimidating a witness by sending his partner threatening text messages.

Natasha Nair, for Dobre, said her client had not had any contact with the victim and was planning to move to Leicestershire to live with his sister on his release from prison.