A VIOLENT man with an 'appalling' record dragged his pregnant ex off a bed and sat on her belly, causing her to fear for the life of her unborn child.

Luke Harborne denied assault occasioning actual bodily harm but pleaded guilty to battery on what would have been the first day of his trial.

The complainant did not want to appear as a witness and Harborne had spent so long on remand that the five month jail sentence he received at Worcester Crown Court on Wednesday meant he could walk free following the attack in Worcester on November 5, 2019.

Sarah Allen, prosecuting, said the pair had previously been in a relationship which had ended and the complainant had applied for a restraining order.

Ms Allen said Harborne had left himself into her property uninvited and found her in her bedroom, sitting on the bed.

She said: "The defendant became agitated, wanting to know why she was ignoring him and what information was on her telephone. He demanded to see her telephone. The defendant grabbed her by the ankle and dragged her off the bed. She fell onto the floor."

Ms Allen then described how the defendant 'punched her and sat down on her stomach' when she was 25 weeks pregnant with Harborne telling her her 'if she wasn't pregnant, he would have hurt her more'.

During the attack she pleaded with him to call an ambulance and two calls were made by the defendant at 4.27pm and 5.15pm.

He told the emergency services that her other partner had broken her mobile phone and she was 'concerned about delivering the baby early'.

Tests at hospital revealed 'no damage to the unborn child' and 'no bruising to the stomach area' but photos did capture bruising to her leg where Harborne had grabbed her.

The defendant's previous convictions include common assault (2008), affray (2008), threatening behaviour (2010), battery (2012), racially aggravated harassment (2012), criminal damage (2013), battery (2014), assault occasioning actual bodily harm (2016), a public order offence and breaching a restraining order (2018) and a further breach of a restraining order (2019). In 2019 he also breached a domestic violence protection order.

Jason Aris, defending, said Harborne was arrested for the attack on November 7, 2019 and was in custody until he was released on bail on August 11 last year. However, he was returned to custody on December 3 last year for further breaches of a criminal behaviour order and two charges of assaulting an emergency worker.

Judge James Burbidge QC said he had to 'double check your date of birth'. "It seems you were born in 1995?" he said.

"That's correct" said the defendant.

"You have an appalling criminal record" said the judge.

"I know, yeah" said Harborne.

The judge told Harborne he was 'not good at relationships' and that they 'turn violent'.

"You continued ringing the complainant up. She ignored you. You went to her home. You let yourself in. When she still ignored you in the home you grabbed her by the ankles and pulled her from the bed" said the judge.

He added: "It's said that you sat on her stomach when she was 25 weeks pregnant. That's the most appalling conduct. It's extremely concerning to the court that should happen. Mercifully there was no injury to the unborn child."

The judge sentenced him to five months in prison, the longest sentence he could impose within the guidelines. Because of the time he has already served on remand, this sentence meant his immediate release.