A DRUNK knifeman is now behind bars after he broke his ex’s nose, bit her, cut her, throttled her and damaged her eye during a brutal attack in her home.

Matthew Bignell was jailed for two years and banned from Malvern at Worcester Crown Court on Friday for the 'sustained' attack, carried out in front of children. The 34-year-old was unanimously found guilty by a jury on November 1 this year of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The attack took place on May 29 this year when the former couple had a row about what the judge described as 'nothing or almost nothing’. Recorder Anthony Warner said: “You followed her to the kitchen, you punched her to the top part of her back on the right. She pushed you back. You took that opportunity to bite her finger although you did let go. You put your hands around her throat over the sink. She hit out at you with something she took off the sink.

“You let go. You punched her to to the right eye. You went to strangle her again, lifting her against the sink.”

Bignell took up a knife, caused an injury to her wrist using the flat of the blade and cut her thumb as she tried to fend him off. Bignell made threats to burn her in her bed.

He added: “You then punched her 10 times to the right side of her head and face. She describes them as hard punches.”

As well as a broken nose, she suffered retinal damage, right lid bruising and a subconjunctival haemorrhage. She was placed under the care of a consultant ophthalmologist. The injury was still obvious when she gave evidence during Bignell’s trial, the Recorder said.

Aggravating factors were that Bignell was in drink, the presence of children and the ongoing effects of the assault. The judge said the fact she did not want a financial contribution from Bignell, father of her children, ‘indicates to me she regards the severance of your relationship as permanent’.

Because Bignell of Glastonbury Road, Birmingham, had denied the offence, he received no credit for plea and no discount in the length of ‘the inevitable prison sentence’. The judge, who described the attack as 'very frightening', imposed a restraining order for 10 years which prohibits Bignell from contacting the victim directly or indirectly by any means whatsoever and from entering Malvern. Any contact with children must be arranged though a solicitor.