A former soldier shattered his partner's jaw and knocked out her front teeth in a brawl over burnt food.
The woman was heard screaming for help after Ian Albistan, 56, struck her in the face at a flat.
She was taken into another flat in Skelmersdale by a neighbour with blood pouring from her mouth and her two front teeth bent in, Lancs Live reports.
Preston Crown Court heard how the pair had been in an often toxic relationship for a number of years when the drunken argument turned violent.
The woman had attempted to bite his arm before Albistan reacted with "excessive self defence" and inflicted grievous bodily harm.
Prosecuting, Lucy Worsley said the woman was heard screaming for help at around 1.25am on January 30 and was then seen buzzing various doorbells in a bid to get help.
According to the neighbour, the woman was in “absolute hysterics” and was rocking back and forth in shock.
The neighbour asked what happened and was told: “He punched me in the mouth”. When asked who had punched her, she replied: “My boyfriend.”
Police were called to the flat but her speech had become increasingly slurred due to her injuries. She could not speak clearly but when an officer asked if she’d been punched and if it was by her partner, she gave a ‘thumbs up’ both times.
However, she later refused to co-operate with proceedings and gave no victim statement to the court.
A doctor’s report stated she had bruising and swelling around her eye and that the fractured jaw had been confirmed by a CT scan and required a transfer to Manchester Royal Infirmary for specialist treatment.
Ms Worsley said that Armistan has nine previous convictions for six offences, including two common assaults against girlfriends in 2000 and 2007.
Defending, Beverley Hackett asked for full credit for Albistan’s early guilty plea and observed that it had come even when the victim was refusing to identify him. She said this was a sign of his remorse and that he was ashamed of his actions that night.
Ms Hackett said: “He has been in a relationship with this claimant for a number of years.
"It has been a volatile relationship on both parts but the defendant is able to recognise now it doesn’t matter what the background is, doesn’t matter her behaviour, he shouldn’t have reacted the way he did.”
She said although he had offended previously, there had been a “lengthy gap” since his last conviction and as he was now ready to accept help and support he was an ideal candidate for a suspended sentence.
Sentencing, Recorder Martine Snowdon warned Albistan, of Fairstead, Skelmersdale, against his desire to restart the relationship with the woman.
She said a probation officer considered him to be a low risk of re-offending and handed a 12 month sentence suspended for 18 months. She also ordered him to complete 20 days of rehabilitation activities and to attend the Building Better Relationships programme.
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