Alan Pickles has been jailed for 14 months after he subjected his partner to a sustained and persistent assault in the early hours of the morning in Newcastle city centre
A woman endured a relentless public assault in Newcastle city centre during which she was thrown into a shop window.
Alan Pickles and his partner had been out on June 17 this year and in the early hours of the following day, they were at a convenience store on Grainger Street.
They rowed and Pickles struck her in the face, sending her crashing to the ground, before marching out of the shop. A short while later, around 1.45am, the pair went to McDonald’s, on Northumberland Street, where a security guard asked them to leave after they bickered loudly at a table.
The woman initially told the guard the dispute was over but then approached him saying she felt unsafe and had been “battered” by Pickles earlier that night.
The security guard asked Pickles to leave, which he did but he waited outside and kept talking to the woman through the door, including saying he loved her and was sorry. She responded saying that it was over between them.
The security guard told him to leave or he would phone police but the woman then asked if they could have two minutes to talk. As they walked up Northumberland Street towards Primark, Pickles forcefully pushed her into a glass window, causing her head to hit the glass with a loud bang, reports Chronicle Live.
The glass did not break, the court heard. She crumpled to the floor as he towered over her, launching a barrage of punches while she curled into a foetal position and he bellowed “I will kill you”.
A security guard stepped in but was also struck by Pickles, who was then shoved into some barriers by the guard.
A delivery driver, mistakenly believing the two men were fighting, pulled the security guard away. This allowed Pickles to regain his footing and storm off, after furiously yelling at the woman. The woman was left nursing bruises on her arms and a cut on the top of her head.
Pickles, 41, of no fixed address, has a history of 12 previous convictions, including common assault when she declined to prepare him some food and criminal damage against the same victim, for which he received an 18-month community order last May.
For his latest offence, he admitted to assault by beating and assault causing actual bodily harm. Judge Edward Bindloss, describing it as a “sustained and persistent assault”, sentenced him to 14 months in prison and issued a seven-year restraining order.
Jason Smith, defending, said: “The defendant has significant regret for his actions.”
He added that alcohol is a disinhibiting factor for his ADHD and mentioned his difficult upbringing and long-standing issues with drugs and alcohol. Mr Smith stated: “He says he has not touched anything at all, even though it’s readily available in the custodial environment.”
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