A VIOLENT Greenock man who assaulted his partner and then headbutted her in a further attack 24 hours later has been spared jail after a court heard that he is ‘extremely remorseful’.

Francis Kelly, who was originally charged with choking the woman, pleaded guilty to two reduction to summary offences before a trial got under way at the sheriff court.

The 25-year-old, who had been in a relationship with the victim for four years, handed himself in to police following the violent incidents more than two years ago.

A hearing was told that Kelly ‘became aggressive’ after an argument with the woman at a flat in the town in the afternoon of November 10 2021.

Prosecutor Pamela Brady said: “He jumped up from the bed he was seated on and pushed her back against a wall and then out of the room.

“She entered the room again and there was a further physical altercation between them.

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“She made her way into the living room and he followed her and she slapped him telling him to ‘get away’.

“There was a further struggle in the hallway and this ended up with both being in the bedroom.

“The accused grabbed her with both hands and pinned her onto the bed. She struggled to try to get free.”

Mrs Brady told the court that the complainer was ‘so frightened at the time’ that she ‘urinated out of fear’ and Kelly then left the property.

The pair exchanged messages afterward and met for dinner at a relative’s home the next day.

According to the fiscal depute, they ‘weren’t speaking but remained civil’.

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Kelly turned up at the woman’s home hours later intoxicated and ‘wishing to fight’.

“An argument developed and the accused then headbutted her,” Mrs Brady added.

“He contacted her nose, and she fell to the floor screaming ‘What did you just do?’”

Police officers attended a short time later and saw swelling and bruising to the victim’s nose and a bruise to her back.

Kelly handed himself in to the Rue End Street station and told officers that he had ‘hurt’ his partner.

Defending, Amy Spencer said a background report on her client was ‘positive’ despite Kelly being assessed as presenting a medium risk of reoffending.

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The lawyer said: “Unusually for cases like this there is a high level of remorse in terms of the impact on the victim.

“He seems to be genuinely sorry for how he behaved.

“The relationship ended that night.

“He is still extremely remorseful.”

Sheriff Sean Lynch said that the level of violence over two consecutive days meant that the custody threshold had been met.

However, Kelly, of East Shaw Street, was sentenced to a community payback order as a direct alternative.

He will be supervised for two years and assessed for the Up2U domestic offenders programme, while he must also complete 180 hours of unpaid work within 12 months.

A three-year non-harassment order was imposed in respect of the victim.