A government worker from Castletown has been jailed for six months after headbutting a woman at a party.

Christopher Wayne Shanley, of Arbory Road, knocked out the woman’s tooth with the butt then threw her against a kitchen counter and a window.

On Thursday, the 25-year-old pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm.

Prosecutor James Robinson told the court how, on October 14, Shanley was drinking in the Union pub in Castletown with some friends.

At 12.05am they left and went to what was described as a small gathering of people at an address in Malew Street.

However, the party host felt that there were too many people in his house so he asked Shanley and his friends to leave.

Shanley was said to have taken exception to this and a woman then spoke up for the host.

Shanley saw red and headbutted her in the face, knocking out a tooth, then threw her against the kitchen counter, then against the window.

The woman had to go to hospital and her tooth was replanted but she could require further surgery - costing in the region of £3,930.

Shanley was later arrested at his home and interviewed by police.

He said he remembered having a couple of drinks at home but then could not recall anything until he woke up the next day.

CCTV footage from the Union pub was shown to Shanley but he said this did not jar his memory.

Three witnesses identified him as the woman’s attacker, including the woman herself.

Defence advocate Roger Kane said: ’We recognise it is a serious assault but hope to persuade the court to move away from imposing a custodial sentence.

’Mr Shanley has accepted the prosecution case and not tried to minimise his actions or wriggle out of it in any way.

’He is ashamed of himself and is truly apologetic to the victim. We recognise that offences against females are often demonised.’

Mr Kane went on to say that Shanley had not even known who he had headbutted or whether it was a man or woman.

’He wishes to make clear it is not in him to go out and assault a female knowingly,’ said the advocate. ’He was disgusted with himself when it sank in.’

The advocate added that Shanley was in full-time employment with the government and would struggle to keep his job if he went to prison.

Magistrates’ chair David Craine said while passing sentence: ’This was drunken, cowardly violence. It was an unprovoked assault.

’You headbutted a lady and you have not stopped there. You have thrown her against a kitchen counter and a window. She suffered significant injuries.

’Who can say what long-term emotional and psychological distress may have been caused by this assault.

’A message must go out that the courts will not tolerate drunken unprovoked violence, particularly when perpetrated on a female.’

The question of physical attacks on women in March hit the headlines in March when Shaun Liam McEntee, of Holly Grove, Pulrose, grabbed his partner by the throat and dragged her around by the hair as her horrified children watched on.

One of the youngsters, aged 14, told police she thought McEntee was going to kill her mother and he eventually had to be tasered by police.

McEntee, aged 34, was sentenced to four months custody by magistrates, suspended for 18 months, after admitting common assault.

The fact that he was spared jail angered a number of people, who set up a campaign demanding tougher sentences for domestic abuse and MHKs have since pledged that new laws will be passed.

While the two cases are different - one involved domestic abuse and the other an assault on what appeared to be a bystander - it is likely that the two sentences will be contrasted by campaigners.