A ROMANTIC evening by the side of a Worcestershire river ended with a man accusing his partner of having an affair and punching her in the face.

Wayne Loveridge took his long-term partner to a place by the river at Stourport where he had taught her to swim, John Evans, prosecuting, told Worcester Crown Court.

The 40-year-old had been drinking all day on St Patrick’s Day, March 17, this year, and his intention was to light a fire and pass the evening talking romantically with his partner before spending the night nearby.

Loveridge admitted he was “bladdered” by the evening, Mr Evans said, and his partner had also been drinking.

They set off from their home in Yarranton Close, Stourport, on a bicycle which could not carry two of them and one or other would have to perch on the handlebars so they kept falling off.

Later at the riverside, he accused her of having an affair and punched her once in the face, causing two black eyes. He fell asleep and when he woke up, she was gone.

He could remember skinny-dipping but he couldn’t remember anything else, Mr Evans said. When he couldn’t find her, he called the police, who traced her to her father’s home in Kidderminster. They noticed her injuries and went back to arrest him.

“He was a little unhappy as he was the one who had called the police in the first place,” Mr Evans said.

The couple, who had been together for 21 years, had now separated and she had left the home. Loveridge pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm.

Gurdeep Garcha, defending, said Loveridge was made redundant nine years ago and had been on benefits since then. He had been a full-time carer for the couple’s two teenage daughters.

Recorder Martin Jackson told Loveridge that whatever he had believed, there was no justification for punching a woman in the face.

He said Loveridge’s attitude appeared to condone controlling behaviour towards women and his partner had left because she no longer felt safe with him.

He gave Loveridge an 18-month community order with supervision. He will also have to attend a domestic abuse programme and was ordered to pay £300 costs.