A 58-year-old man from Kirk Michael who assaulted his wife had been put on probation for 12 months.

Mark Anthony Pass committed the offence after his wife had tried to stop him driving after he had been drinking.

High Bailiff Jayne Hughes also ordered him to pay £125 prosecution costs.

Prosecuting advocate Barry Swain told the court that Pass was at home with his wife on April 28 at 2.30pm.

He was described as heavily intoxicated and argued with his wife outside their home after he said he was going to drive.

His wife said she would drive him anywhere he wanted, but refused to give him the car keys.

Pass was said to have responded by becoming verbally abusive, then throwing punches towards her which landed on her hands and arms, but knocked her to the ground.

She banged her head and suffered a sprained finger.

Pass’s wife left the house and called the police, and when officers arrived they found Pass asleep in the kitchen.

He was described as slurring his words, unsteady on his feet, and mumbling.

After being arrested, he was later interviewed at police headquarters and said that he would never intentionally cause harm to his wife, but confirmed that her allegations must have been true as she had no reason to lie.

His wife said that he had a drinking problem which caused difficulties in their relationship.

Mr Swain said that no application had been made for a restraining order.

A probation report said that Pass was born in Derbyshire and had moved to the island a year ago.

He said that he had had alcohol issues for about 20 years and had been with his wife for 43 years.

Pass said that he had temporarily moved out of the family home to give his wife some space, and is currently living at a hotel at Park Road in Ramsey.

The report concluded that he would benefit from some support from probation.

Defence advocate Paul Rodgers said that the prosecution facts were accepted and confirmed that his client had issues with alcohol, but said that he had started to address them by attending Motiv8 meetings.

Mr Rodgers said that Pass could not recall the assault but had accepted that it had happened.

The advocate said that his wife had even recorded the incident to bring home to him how drunk he was, and how negative his behaviour was.

Mr Rodgers said that Pass was lightly convicted and asked the court to follow the recommendation for a probation order.

High Bailiff Mrs Hughes said that she had taken into account that Pass had remained offence-free since 2007, had spent time in custody after his arrest, and had been living in a hotel since the incident.

He was given seven days to pay the prosecution costs.