A 34-year-old Castletown man has been put on probation for domestic abuse.

Michael Gregory Frank Ashton, of College View, admitted a common assault on his then-partner after grabbing her hair and banging her head on a door.

Ashton has been on remand since April 12, almost the equivalent of a 22-week sentence.

High Bailiff Jayne Hughes sentenced him to a 12-month probation order saying that she was satisfied that an element of punishment had been dealt with.

The maximum sentence for common assault under Manx law is six months in custody, so the High Bailiff said she would only have been able to send Ashton to prison for one or two weeks more.

As we have previously reported, police were called to an address at Empress Drive in Douglas on March 30 at 9am.

The victim said that Ashton had barged into her house and grabbed her hair, bashing her head against a door causing her to blackout. She said that he then left the house.

After being arrested and interviewed by police, Ashton said that the couple were in a relationship though the woman had said they were not.

He said that he had been out with her the previous evening and denied grabbing her by the hair. He claimed that she must have caused the injury herself.

However, in court defence advocate David Reynolds said his client now accepted the prosecution facts.

The court heard that Ashton has convictions for two assaults in 2018, one of which he was jailed for after he headbutted a man on a Saturday afternoon in Castletown Square.

Mr Reynolds said: ’Mr Ashton tells me at the time of this offence he was in a relationship with the woman. He is not now, and has not had any contact with her since the offence. He accepts his relationship with the complainant was a volatile one and adding a mix of alcohol and drugs did not help the situation.

’There are a number of convictions of a similar nature. It would appear Mr Ashton has been in denial in relation to these offences. There has not been an escalation in offending but clearly there is a pattern.’

The advocate went on to say that Ashton was unemployed but intended finding work upon his release and hoped to start a college course in September. A probation report rated Ashton as a high risk of harm to the public and high risk of reoffending.

Mrs Hughes told Ashton: ’You have a problem with violence and it would seem a problem with drink as well.’