A CONVICTED dealer who beat up his wife was the victim of her violence - throwing a bottle of 'pop' at his head which cut his face open and secretly recording him, a court heard.

Lee Groves of Pike Close, Worcester was jailed for 26 months at Worcester Crown Court on Friday for several attacks on his wife, including one which may have resulted in a slipped disc.

The 56-year-old, acting as her carer, also strangled her, kicked her, punched her and insulted her about her weight despite her being vulnerable because of her medical conditions including sciatica which meant she found herself 'spending most of the day in bed'.

The victim had told police she believed she was 'going to end up in a box, dead' at the defendant's hands and that she 'lived in fear' of him, said the prosecutor.

Groves admitted grievous bodily harm (section 20 - without intent) on October 21 last year, two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (in July last year and November 23 last year) and a further count of controlling and coercive behaviour throughout last year.

However, his solicitor, Sam Lamsdale, disputed the prosecution account that his wife was 'bed bound' and described the relationship as both 'volatile' and 'unhealthy'.

"She has said in her statement herself on one occasion she threw a bottle of pop at Lee Groves which split his eye" said Mrs Lamsdale.

She added: "There were occasions where he was himself the victim of domestic abuse."

Miss Lamsdale said Groves had told her that if Mrs Groves did not get her own way 'straight away' she would order him to leave the house and that she would 'phone the police regularly if she couldn't get her own way'. She argued that the assault involving GBH was not necessarily a prolonged assault.

"He grabbed her by the lapels of her dressing gown and threw her out of the front door. That was perhaps born out of frustration and anger that they were consistently arguing about money, about food, about him taking things up to her - drink and cigarettes."

Mrs Lamsdale also said Mrs Groves had put a tracker on her husband's phone. "She constantly accused him of being unfaithful and of having affairs with his neighbour," she said.

The solicitor also said Mrs Groves set her phone to record and left it in the living room.

"He did acknowledge there was a pattern of destructive behaviour but struggles himself without any support to identify ways to change that" she said.

Mrs Groves also wants to be reconciled with her partner once he gets out of prison.

"He never had any intention to cause her a series injury" said Mrs Lamsdale.