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A GARDENER has been sentenced for attacking his ex-partner by pulling her hair out in a heated argument at the victim's home in Herefordshire.

Guy Ingram, 36, became confrontational after his ex threatened to tell his new girlfriend that the former partners had been sleeping together.

Hereford magistrates heard that the couple, who were previously in a relationship for 10 years, had slept together the night before, which Ingram denied.

The attack itself happened on July 11, in the early evening at around 6pm. The victim said that Ingram had been "in a mood" before the incident.

Prosecution solicitor Owen Beale said Ingram pushed the victim onto her bed, climbed on top of her and started pulling her hair out. He then called her a "psycho" before he left her home.

She called the police, sobbing down the phone as she reported the assault. 

Mr Beale said that the woman was a "vulnerable victim" of a domestic violence incident, and had been left with marks to her ear and her head after the attack.

Ingram, of Cross Street in Tenbury Wells, pleaded guilty to a charge of assault by beating when he appeared before Hereford magistrates on February 21.

He has now been handed a community order and told to complete a programme on building better relationships.

He must also complete 80 hours of unpaid work and pay compensation of £100 to the victim.

He has been ordered to pay an additional £135 in court costs and a £114 victim surcharge.

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In mitigation, the court heard that the relationship between Ingram and his ex is now amicable and "workable". He recently helped her move house, and is apparently supporting her as she embarks on further education.

He has no previous convictions and was described as being otherwise of good character.

Ingram accepted that the argument was "heated" and that there had been "physical confrontation", but said that his anger had stemmed from the victim's threat to contact his new partner.