Dewsbury man broke ex's jaw after she confessed she had been seeing someone else

It was accepted at Leeds Crown Court that Gary Bona had used "excessive self defence" when he got into an argument, then a fight, with the woman at her home in Middlestown.

Prosecutor Bashir Ahmed said 50-year-old Bona had been in a relationship with the woman for about seven months but his mood was affected by the first lockdown in March last year and they split.

They remained friends and attended gym training sessions together, but when the second lockdown was put in place, he struggled in isolation and she allowed him to stay over occasionally to help him, but had no intention of resuming their relationship.

Mr Ahmed said Bona would become angry when she was in contact with other males.

On November 29 last year they got into an argument about steroid tablets found in his bag, which continued when they reached her home on Thornhill Road.

She then told him their relationship was over and he eventually left, but the police later called her and asked if she would let him stay at her house because he was intoxicated and the were concerned for his welfare.

He slept on her sofa, but the next morning he went into her bedroom and asked why he was there, before they resumed their argument.

When she admitted she had been seeing someone else, he "flipped" and switched between crying and laughing.

When he got up close to her, she pushed him, so he pushed her back and caused her to fall.

She then got up and pushed him back again before he punched her to the face several times, and as she curled up on the floor, she felt him punching her again.

The fight was only broken up when the woman's 18-year-old son came to her aid and ordered that Bona leave.

Bona was heard saying: "What have I done? I have gone against everything."

When the police arrived they found Bona outside of the property and told them it was all his fault, however, he later gave a 'no comment' interview.

The woman suffered a fractured jaw which required surgery.

Bona, of Wellington Road, Dewsbury, has no previous convictions and admitted a charge of grievous bodily harm.

Mitigating, Rukhshanda Hussain said a number of factors contributed to Bona's mood, including isolation and his alcohol consumption at the time.

She said: "He is someone who is genuinely remorseful for his actions and regretted them immediately - verbalising this to the police when they arrived.

"It was an isolated incident and completely out of character."

She said he has stopped drinking and broke all contact with his former partner.

She added: "There will never be a repeat of this type of behaviour. This was excessive self defence."

In a letter to Judge, Simon Phillips QC, Bona wrote that it was a "horrible, cowardly attack".

The judge took into account his remorse and his state of mind at the time and handed him a 15-month jail term, but suspended it for 24 months.

He also gave him a three-month electronic tag curfew, and ordered him to pay £1,000 compensation to the victim.