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A massage therapist who threw his partner against a brick wall, leaving her with serious head injuries, has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Jay Madine, 26, pulled the woman from her car during the assault in Gosforth High Street in December, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Madine, of Oliver Crescent in Birtley, was given a 21-month jail sentence suspended for two years and was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work after he admitted causing grievous bodily harm without intent.

The court heard he initially drove away and left the woman following the attack but then returned and took her to hospital.

'Dressing up'

Madine began a relationship with the older woman in March last year and she would pay to take him travelling and buy him gifts, prosecutor Shada Mellor said.

But his "mood swings began to dominate", the court heard.

These were "born out of his jealousy," with Madine not liking the woman spending time with her son and ex-husband.

His anger erupted on 5 December when the woman put on black trousers to go to pick up Christmas decorations, Ms Mellor said, with Madine accusing her of "dressing up" to see her ex.

Later that day she went to pick Madine up from Gosforth High Street.

There he became volatile again with a "level of anger and rage" the woman had not seen before, the court was told.

'Betrayed and distraught'

He repeatedly shouted at her: "Are you going to leave me now?"

Ms Mellor said the woman was "too scared" to tell him she wanted to break up.

He threw her laptop bag out of the car, then retrieved it and hit her in the face with it, the court was told.

Madine then dragged the woman out of the car, picked her up and hurled her against a brick wall.

As she lay on the floor with blood pouring out of her ear, Madine drove away but he returned moments later and took her to the Royal Victoria Infirmary with the woman having fallen unconscious on the journey, the court heard.

Scans revealed a fracture and haemorrhage in her head with the woman suffering from a loss of hearing, memory and movement in her face.

In a statement read to the court, the woman said the assault "changed [her] life forever".

She added: "I feel betrayed and distraught someone who loved me can attack me in such a way."

She said he had "completely and utterly broken" her and she frequently had flashbacks.

In mitigation, David Robinson-Young said Madine had grown up witnessing domestic violence, his relationship with the woman was his first serious one and he "deeply" regretted the way he behaved.

After hearing submissions, Judge Gavin Doig said there was a "realistic prospect of rehabilitation" for Madine so suspended the prison term with conditions, including the unpaid work and a 12-month mental health treatment plan.

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