Wigan man kicked partner in sustained assault

Andrew Whitty, of Atherton Road in Hindley Green, has admitted to causing actual bodily harm to a former partner, leaving her with a gash behind her ear that needed glueing together.

Wigan magistrates heard how the 32-year-old attacked his ex-girlfriend when an argument broke out after they had already broken up.

Whitty, who had been living with his partner of four months before the relationship turned “sour”, carried out the assault on August 31 after going to pick up some of his belongings from her home.

Prosecuting, Alan Bakker said: “At the beginning he was lovely, he really helped her to get through a previous bad relationship. She had a lot of issues going on in her life.

“Her children had been taken by social services. They both started taking drugs together. That’s when it started to go sour.

“He was no longer living at the address but had turned up to collect his belongings.”

At first the victim wouldn’t let him in and as things became more heated she started throwing verbal abuse at him.

Mr Bakker added: “The defendant in response to this assaulted the complainant by striking her twice to the face, knocking her to the floor, kicking her whilst she was on the floor to her shin.”

The prosecutor explained how the victim had “screamed” to Whitty’s dad – who was there helping him to collect his things – to get him to stop, to which he responded “leave her alone she’s not worth it”.

Straight after the attack the woman went to the hospital where she was treated for a cut to the back of her ear, which needed gluing together, a cut to the top of her lip and swelling to the right hand side of her face.

After giving an initial statement, the victim later retracted the claims saying she wasn’t “strong enough” to go to the court.

Whitty accepted causing the injuries that were photographed by the police after the attack and has admitted to assault causing actual bodily harm.

The prosecution explained to the bench that there are also photographs of blood on the pavement and the wall following the attack.

Despite disputing the facts of the case, Whitty has accepted that there was “more than one blow”.

Mr Bakker described the incident as a “sustained and repeated” assault.

There was a common assault charge from August 27, which was dropped.

After hearing the evidence the magistrates declined jurisdiction. Whitty will be sentenced at Bolton Crown Court on Tuesday, May 7.