A DRUNKEN thug twice throttled his girlfriend until she feared she was going to die, spat in her face, punched her and removed her underwear to humiliate her.

Tim Bird was sent to jail for three years at Worcester Crown Court on Wednesday for the violent and degrading attacks on his ex-partner in her home as someone shouted from the public gallery: "A paedophile walked out of here last week!"

The 27-year-old of Ransom Avenue, Worcester, admitted two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm on the victim during two separate incidents on January 11 and February 2 last year. Bird was also in breach of a suspended sentence for the production of cannabis (seven months suspended for two years).

Bird has a string of previous convictions including possession of an offensive weapon, criminal damage, being drunk and disorderly, assaulting a police officer driving with excess alcohol and disclosing intimate sexual photographs.

On the first occasion Bird had been due to meet his partner at the Anchor Inn in Diglis, Worcester, but the defendant stood her up so she remained in the city, drinking with friends. When she did see the defendant outside Alexander's in New Street they had an argument and she was told by the police to go home.

She left the key in the lock and, as a result, Bird could not get in and an argument took place after he returned home in the early hours of the morning.

"In the small hours of the morning you pinned her down by her throat in her own bed to the extent that she could not breathe and thought she was going to die. You bruised her throat in the process" said Judge Nicolas Cartwright, sentencing.

During the second attack Bird came back at 4.30am and again the complainant had put the key in the door so he could not get in although she let him in and another argument took place

The judge said: "You spat in her face, got on top of her and hit her in the face, demanding to know where she had been."

Bird followed her downstairs and made threats to her and slamming her head against the sofa. He did this each time demanding to know where she had been, slamming her head down after he counted down and she did not answer his question.

"You took her to the floor and you deliberately humiliated her by pouring water from a box of flowers onto her and hitting her with the flowers. You put your fingers in her eyes and nose. You humiliated her by ripping her underwear off and calling her a slag" said the judge.

When she got away the defendant caught up with her again, throttling her in the same way he had during the first attack and again she feared she was going to die. Bird told her he was going to 'slit her throat' before she fled to a neighbour's and raised the alarm.

She suffered bruising to her cheek and eye and suffered a suspected fracture to her elbow although only wore the sling for a day, the court heard. However, she nevertheless required hospital treatment at Worcestershire Royal Hospital said the judge. He said said the injury would have been painful and the victim had been particularly vulnerable.

The victim had been on her own in the flat and had been drinking. "She was totally at your mercy" said the judge.

Judge Cartwright also viewed the offences as involving a degree of pre-meditation. The second attack was both sustained and repeated.

Bird had also assaulted the same victim just three weeks before which he took to be a grossly aggravating feature of the case. Moreover, Bird only pleaded guilty on what would have been the day of trial. His late guilty plea earned him a 10 per cent reduction in the length of the prison sentence. If he had pleaded guilty at the earliest available opportunity he would have received a third off.

The judge made a 10 year restraining order to protect the complainant.