A MUM was afraid she was going to die after her 'dangerous' partner subjected her to a 'humiliating' attack, shaving off her hair while accusing her of being unfaithful.

Clifford Hodgkins was jailed at Worcester Crown Court on Monday after admitting assault occasioning actual bodily harm, careless driving, breach of a non-molestation order and breach of a conditional discharge.

The 36-year-old, then living in Ombersley Road, Worcester, picked up partner Carly Bunn from Worcester Foregate Street Railway Station after she had travelled to the city from Malvern on April 11 this year. Miss Bunn understood he was going to pay her back for jewellery he had broken. Anna Midgley, prosecuting, said Hodgkins drove off and made threats, accusing her of infidelity. He drove her to a friend's house to investigate whether Miss Bunn had been unfaithful and then to a remote rural location.

Miss Midgley said Hodgkins 'flew into a rage' when he learned police had been called by Miss Bunn's friend's mother. He threatened Miss Bunn with a walking stick, kicked her in the back which caused her to fall down and used hair clippers to shave her head in three places. Miss Midgley said: "He used his foot to hold her down, pulled her hair up and shaved sections of her hair down to the scalp. She believed she was going to die at that stage."

The attack was carried out in front of a child. After the attack Hodgkins continued to drive Miss Bunn around and crashed into a family car on the A38 near Droitwich, causing it to spin.

A man in the car suffered pain to his right side, back and neck while his wife suffered whiplash and was described as extremely distressed. The child in the car was described as feeling 'sick and frightened'. Hodgkins stopped but did not exchange details with the other driver. He dumped the car at a farm in Droitwich.

Miss Midgley said the defendant had previously assaulted Miss Bunn during their 'volatile relationship', dragging her out of bed and accusing her of being unfaithful after entering her property without being invited. Hodgkins, who had been on licence at the time, admitted common assault, was recalled to prison and made subject to a non-molestation order on February 8 this year.

Upon release on April 6 this year he began contacting Miss Bunn and the two exchanged 791 telephone calls and messages between April 6 and April 11, 85 per cent of which were said to come from the defendant. Hodgkins had 26 convictions for 52 offences.

These include three offences of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, two battery offences and one possession of a bladed article. Two of the ABHs were against one former partner and the third against a different former partner. He struck one woman to the face and arms with a broken pool cue. The other he punched in the face, causing bruising and swelling to her left eye and a bloody nose which needed hospital treatment. This resulted in a four year jail sentence on July 14, 2006.

He was also jailed for 20 months for section 20 wounding in 2009 and has a stalking conviction against former partner, Emma Hughes. He was handed a conditional discharge on March 28 this year, just two weeks before he carried out these offences.

Jason Aris, defending, said: "He appreciates custody must be the way forward." He said his client had pleaded guilty and should be given maximum credit for his early pleas.

Judge Nicolas Cartwright said the court had previously found Hodgkins to be 'dangerous' and the offences were aggravated by the defendant's previous offending, a degree of pre-meditation his failure to comply with court orders and the presence of a child. He described Hodgkins shaving of Miss Bunn's head as 'gratuitous degradation' and told him: "What you did was deliberately designed to humiliate her."

The judge jailed him for two years, endorsed his driving licence with six penalty points and ordered that a further charge of false imprisonment lie on file.

He also made Hodgkins subject to a five year restraining order.