A DRUNK man shoved his 'terrified' partner down a fire escape and tried to strangle her, shouting 'die bitch, die!' as he squeezed her neck.

Jack Hopcutt carried out the attack on Olivia Gilbert who said she was 'bruised all over my body and everything hurt' after the assault outside a flat above the Talbot pub in Kempsey, the pub landlord intervening to try to drag the defendant off her. The 34-year-old bricklayer of Rookery Road, Kempsey, was found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm after a trial, appearing at Worcester Magistrates Court on Tuesday for sentence. The attack happened on January 30 when student Miss Gilbert, who worked at the pub, returned to the defendant's flat above after she had been drinking. Both had consumed alcohol, the court heard.

Jackie Rogers, prosecuting, said when Miss Gilbert returned 'initially everything seemed okay but then there was an argument between them'. She told him she was going to leave and go back to her dad's, collecting her belongings and car keys before leaving the flat via the fire escape. Miss Gilbert said: "As I got to the top of the stairs I was all of a sudden pushed and fell down the stairs. Once at the ground floor Jack jumped on top of me. He put both his hands around my throat and squeezed causing me to struggle to breathe.

"Jack was shouting 'die bitch, die!' I was shouting 'get off, get off!' and pushing and punching to try and get him off me."

She said she was 'terrified'. The pub landlord came out of the pub to get him off. "Once I was free Jack began to hit his head off the pub's wall and seemed to be having some sort of mental episode. The landlord finally managed to get Jack to calm down and get him to sit on the fire escape steps. He said 'I know they are coming for me. I will wait here for them'" she said.

She suffered 'severe bruising to her neck' and grazes to her knees. In a victim personal statement she said she was not sleeping well as a result of the attack and feels anxious, wondering where the defendant is. She was not able to work for a few days.

Magistrates accepted that Hopcutt, who had taken an overdose after the assault, had shown genuine remorse. They handed him an 18 month community order to include 40 rehabilitation activity requirement days, a £120 fine and £620 costs. He must also pay compensation to the victim of £100 and a £90 victim surcharge.