Drunken thug jailed after assaulting ex-partner in Irvine

William Owens committed the offence just one day after his relationship was ended, and only hours after he had collected his belongings from her Irvine home.

The 36-year-old was sentenced at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on Tuesday, October 29, after he pleaded guilty to a charge of assault.

The offence was committed on May 30 this year, at the home of his ex-partner in the Girdle Toll area of the town.

Procurator fiscal depute Craig Wainwright told the court that the pair had been in a relationship for around a year, but this had come to an end the previous day.

At around 8am that morning, Owens had attended his ex's home to collect clothing.

The court was told that he appeared to be slightly intoxicated, however, there was no problem as he gathered his belongings and left.

At around 2pm the same day, Owens was seen returning to the house and entering via the back door.

Owens then came towards the woman in the living room and began shouting whilst slurring his words, before seizing her by the neck, grabbing her hair and dragging her to the ground.

Owens - described as a prisoner of HMP Kilmarnock - started repeatedly punching and kicking her head and face.

After a tirade of blows, the woman was bleeding heavily from her nose. The court was told she then called for help from her eldest son - who was in the house at the time - which caused Owens to pull away.

This allowed her to free herself and head away from the property where she was met by a neighbour who had started coming over after hearing the disturbance.

They asked the woman what had happened after seeing the blood which was dripping from her face - and she told them that she had been assaulted.

The attacker made off and his ex was taken to hospital due to bruising and swelling to her face, in particular her nose.

An X-ray showed there to be no fractures and she was released without further treatment.

Owens was then traced and arrested on August 20 this year before appearing in court the following day. He has been remanded in custody since.

Defending, solicitor Simon Brown said that his client was "very ashamed of his actions".

He admitted that Owens has a record of analogous offending though this has "significantly tailed off" in recent years.

Mr Brown added that he would look to seek support for his alcohol consumption which "has been a factor throughout his offending".

"He is trying to get his life back on track as soon as possible," the solicitor said.

Sheriff George Jamieson sentenced Owens to spend 15 months in prison - which was backdated to his initial remand on August 21.