A "COWARDLY" dad beat a 16-year-old girl unconscious and bit his ex-partner’s hand in two bloody attacks.

Jamie Whittingham, who was told he could not control himself by a judge, was jailed at Worcester Crown Court after two attacks in Hereford that left a woman and a girl battered and bleeding.

The 28-year-old, of St Martin's Avenue, Hereford, had already admitted two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm when he appeared over prison videolink on Friday.

The first attack happened when Whittingham found his ex-partner at his home on February 22 last year.

Matthew Bolt, prosecuting, said Whittingham had been out drinking at The Venue in Gaol Street, Hereford, with his partner.

He met his ex-partner there and an argument ensued, where it was said that she had slapped the defendant after a remark he made.

When he returned home he found his ex with his new partner.

Mr Bolt said: “He asked the victim to leave multiple times. She refused to do so. She took her shoes off and gave every indication of intending to remain.

"At one point he was hitting her around the face with her shoe. Plates were also thrown in the kitchen.

"At this point the defendant concluded that the victim was jealous and that she did not wish to leave.

"He took the action to drag her outside. He wanted her to leave the property and stated he was panicking and, when he reached the door, bodily threw her out.

"She held onto the frame of the door to prevent this. To stop her holding the door he chose to bite her on her hand. That caused her to let go.”

Mr Bolt said the door was also shut on the victim’s arm in the door.

Whittingham claimed that he had acted in "excessive self-defence".

Injuries she sustained included scratches to her cheek, a bite mark to her right hand that included a puncture wound, injuries to her right arm and two black eyes.

The court was told the mum-of-two had developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result.

The second attack happened as darkness fell near Hereford Cathedral on September 12 last year when Whittingham was on bail for the first attack.

During the incident Whittingham’s friend subjected a member of a group of 16-year-olds who had been on Great Western Way to homophobic insults.

Whittingham then said to one of the girls in the group: “I’m going to give this girl good hiding!”

Mobile footage was played of him swinging punches at her, one of them knocking her unconscious.

The victim, who had to go to hospital, was also concussed, which caused her to vomit.

She suffered injuries to her eye, cheek and lip, and was described by the judge as "extremely distressed".

The judge read her victim personal statement, and said it made sad reading.

He said she had been a confident young woman, but because of the attack had lost that confidence, and was "left anxious and frequently tearful". 

The defendant committed 57 offences in the past, including 23 offences of violence.

In 2013 he assaulted a previous partner with a vacuum cleaner and stabbed her with a pair of scissors. He also has convictions for robbery and battery.

Emily Heggadon, defending, said Whittingham had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and had seen several friends die, one of whom was run over in front of him.

Judge James Burbidge QC said: “He doesn’t just abuse intimate partners. He’s potentially a danger to the public at large.”

The judge took issue with a number of defence submissions and said: “How many women does he have to strike before you would submit to an assertion he cannot rehabilitate his conduct?”

The judge also responded to Whittingham’s claim that his ex had been jealous. He said: “I doubt she is jealous of any relationship you have with any other woman."

He also said the reason the defendant had chosen to attack a 16-year-old girl in Hereford was "beyond comprehension".

On viewing the footage he said: “It shows your appalling and cowardly behaviour.”

Jailing him for 23 months, he said: “You are a violent individual who it seems, at the moment, cannot control yourself. You feel the need to attack women – an extremely worrying trait.”

He also made a 10-year restraining order to protect his former partner which prevents him having contact with her either directly or indirectly.