A DOMESTIC abuser left his ex-partner needing 25 stitches after he smashed her in the face with a wine glass during a brutal attack.

Richard Byford got into a heated argument with a woman at a tennis club in Frinton back in June 2021 whilst watching a Euro 2020 football match.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard on Wednesday how Byford, 54, drove his partner to an address in Mansfield Gardens in St Osyth whilst he was under the influence of alcohol.

The argument escalated and Byford took a wine glass before using it to twice hit his victim in the face.

Byford, of Saxon Way, St Osyth, initially denied a charge of grievous bodily harm but later admitted the charge on the day he was due to stand trial.

The court heard how his victim required 25 stitches to her face to close the wound and suffered severed tendons in one of her hands, which required surgery and left her unable to work or drive for three months.

In a victim impact statement read out by prosecuting barrister Oliver Newman, the victim said: “Everyone around me witnessed the abuse and tried to get me to get away but I refused to accept it.

“Richard is a controlling and narcissistic bully who brought me to my knees.

“I am beyond grateful for the domestic abuse charities for their continued support and understanding.”

John Caudle, mitigating, said: “In my submission, this was an impulsive, spontaneous, shortlived assault.

“I accept the glass was a weapon, but I wouldn’t submit it was a highly dangerous weapon.

“I wouldn’t describe the injuries as particularly grave.”

Byford, who previously worked selling mattresses and has found a new partner since the assault, was confronting his then partner about her cocaine use, Mr Caudle said.

Judge Christopher Morgan was unmoved by the mitigation and sentenced Byford to a 13-and-a-half-month jail term, after which he will serve the same time on licence.

He said: “You have claimed you have no recollection of what you did or why you did it other than to blame her.

“That, in my judgement, is significant when I come to consider whether there is genuine remorse to the victim and what you did.

“There is little in what I’ve read that shows genuine remorse.”

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