A ‘JEKYLL and Hyde’ character has been jailed after he repeatedly kicked his former partner, leaving her‘a shell of her former self’.

Robert Jones, 36, of Langland Avenue, Malvern was jailed at Worcester Crown Court on Friday after admitting assault occasioning actual bodily harm against Katy Holland. He was already on a suspended sentence for attacking her. Lee Egan, prosecuting, said in the early hours of April 15 this year Jones began banging on Miss Holland’s door so hard she thought it would be forced open.

Mr Egan said: “The defendant grabbed her, threw her to the floor and she was kicked several times.”

Her injuries included a 2cm wound to the back of her head. In his basis of plea Jones accepted the assault but denied kicking her in the head. In police interview Jones denied going to her house at all. Mr Egan summarised Miss Holland’s victim personal statement which was written in the form of a letter to the defendant who now has a new partner. In the letter she said she regretted introducing him to her children and described the betrayal of trust by the defendant. “She describes herself as a shell of her former self and having to take sedatives and anti-depressants” said Mr Egan. Jones has a previous conviction for grievous bodily harm from 2007.

Jason Aris, defending, said his client had served the equivalent of an eight month prison sentence already, spending 38 days on remand after he was arrested on May 17 and also spending 165 days on a qualifying curfew.

He argued that it would be more productive to allow him his liberty so he could perform ‘real work for the community’.

Mr Aris also referred to his client’s ‘impressive references’ including from his employer who said he was able to deal with ‘ volatile and difficult’ customers while keeping ‘a cool head’ and ‘going over and above the call of duty’.

Mr Aris said: “His new partner has had a very big impact on him and it seems to me he has been kept on the straight and narrow."

Mr Aris described the previous relationship between Jones and Miss Holland as ‘volatile and destructive for both of them’.

“They clearly weren’t meant to be together and brought out the worst in each other” said Mr Aris.

Judge Jim Tindal said: “The Robert Jones who is very popular around Malvern, who is hard-working, who engaged well with the previous order is a very different Robert Jones from the man who, even though he was on a suspended sentence for assaulting Katy Holland, got drunk, lost his temper and kicked her several times to the body and legs.”

Judge Tindal said what troubled him about the case was that Jones had behaved like ‘Mr Hyde’ rather than ‘Dr Jekyll’ at a time when he was experiencing an awful lot of intervention.

The judge jailed him for 12 months. An indefinite restraining order prevents contact with the victim and prohibits him from entering Geraldine Close or Geraldine Road, Malvern.