A man who strangled and kicked his partner has been handed a suspended sentence.

Declan James Cross, of Governors Road, Onchan, said his anger was sparked by the woman spending their money on a gambling machine.

He was sentenced to four months’ custody, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay his victim £500 compensation.

The 48-year-old pleaded guilty to common assault on a female, possession of cannabis, and possessing of a prohibited article in a public place, namely a lock knife.

Magistrates also made Cross the subject of a two-year Suspended Sentence Supervision Order (SSSO).

Prosecutor Roger Kane told the court how Cross and his then partner were out drinking in the Albert pub in Douglas on April 16 at 7pm.

The couple were said to have argued after playing a gambling machine.

They arrived home where the argument continued and Cross was said to have kicked the woman’s shins with his steel toe-caps. He then put both hands around her neck and strangled her before throwing a pile of newspapers at her.

Cross then pushed her to the floor and put his foot on her back. The woman took out her phone but Cross grabbed it as she fled from the house and ran to the EVF garage.

Police found her in a distressed state.

Cross was found in Circular Road and arrested. In his pocket he had a lock knife and a small amount of cannabis.

Moment of madness

He was interviewed and told police he didn’t recall the assault but admitted remembering a ’moment of madness’.

Advocate Jane Gray entered a basis of plea on behalf of her client in which Cross said he had only kicked the woman once, rather than repeatedly as had been previously claimed, and that he had thrown the papers at her and not hit her with them.

Ms Gray said: ’Mr Cross has admitted his actions at the earliest opportunity. He said it was a moment of madness and he just lost it.’

A probation report said that Cross deeply regretted his loss of temper.

Cross told probation he had been in an eight-year relationship with the woman and this was the first time anything of this nature had taken place.

Ms Gray said: ’Mr Cross was frustrated at not being able to prevent the complainant gambling their income on a fruit machine. His judgement was clouded by the fact he had consumed alcohol.

’He has stated that he has drastically cut down on his alcohol consumption. This has been a wake-up call.’

The advocate said Cross had been working with the woman at a cleaning company but was no longer working there.

Magistrates chair Ken Faragher told Cross: ’If this is the way you behave when drinking to excess you shouldn’t be drinking to excess.’

Cross was sentenced to four months’ custody for the assault and one month for the possession of a prohibited article, to run concurrently, and both suspended for two years.

There was no separate penalty for the cannabis offence.