A WOMAN suffered a fractured jaw and was left looking like she had “suffered a stroke” after she was viciously assaulted in her home.

Drunken Lyndon Brown grabbed the woman, who was then his partner, by her hair and throat and repeatedly punched her, Bradford Crown Court was told.

Brown, 42, of Acres Street, Keighley, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent and was jailed for three years and nine months.

Judge David Hatton QC told Brown the violence he used was “unpleasant.”

Prosecutor Peter Byrne said the incident occurred in the early hours of January 2 at the woman’s home in Keighley, after they had spent the day together. They had both been drinking but Brown had consumed much more.

Mr Byrne said the woman asked Brown to leave, after he called her names, but he refused, grabbed her hair, pushed his forehead against hers and punched her in the back of the head. He asked for a kiss before leaving, and when he did not get one he grabbed her hair and then her throat, holding it for two or three minutes before releasing his grip. Brown then punched her six or seven times to the face and head, before collecting his belongings and leaving. Mr Byrne said the woman attended hospital three days later and was found to have fractures to her jaw, broken teeth and bruising to her face.

The hospital alerted police but the woman told them she did not wish to make a statement because she was scared. She later made a video statement and Brown was arrested.

In a victim personal statement, the woman said she had still been in pain a month after the attack and only able to eat soft food. She needed surgery to insert two steel plates into her jaw and at that time was suffering from paralysis to her face, causing slurred speech, a drooping mouth and cheek and she was not properly able to close her left eye. She said she did not know whether the paralysis would be permanent and felt she “looked like I’ve suffered a stroke.”

Mr Byrne said her jaw was still misaligned and she was still conscious of her face being distorted.

Brown’s barrister, Jayne Beckett, said the defendant was sorry for what he had done and, though it was not an excuse, drink was the explanation for the offence. Judge Hatton said the offence was aggravated by the ongoing effect on the victim, the fact it had taken place in her home, and it was committed when Brown was in a state of considerable drunkenness.