A Lanarkshire brute who broke his partner's arm with a chair leg has been jailed for 13 months.
Airdrie Sheriff Court heard that when the woman pleaded with James Graham to stop and asked why he was trying to hurt her, he replied 'I'm not trying. I am hurting you'.
Graham, 27, admitted assaulting the woman to her severe injury at her home in Lochlea Road, Cumbernauld, on November 27 last year.
Lauren Cole, prosecuting, said the couple had been together for about seven years and have a daughter who was not present when the attack happened.
Graham flew into a rage when the woman woke him at 4.30 in the afternoon and asked him to leave the house.
He pinned her on a bed and tried to cover her face with a pillow, but she managed to push it away.
Graham grabbed her and she hit him as she tried to break free, causing his nose to bleed.
He then subjected her to a prolonged assault that included pulling her downstairs, throwing a stool that hit her on the arm and striking her on the face with an electricity smart meter.
Mrs Cole told the court: "Graham broke the legs of a small wooden chair and hit his partner with one of them.
"She put out her arms to protect herself and he continued to strike her on the arm. She pleaded with him to stop as she believed her arm to be broken.
"Graham responded by applying pressure to that arm and she screamed out in pain.
"He then struck her several times on the body with the chair leg and kicked her several times before apologising to her.
"She fled the property and went to a friend's house where she contacted the police.
"She attended at Monklands Hospital and an x-ray showed a fracture. Her arm was in a cast for five weeks.
"Police officers went to her house at 7.30pm and found broken pieces of furniture in the living room.
"Graham was arrested and when interviewed he freely admitted the conduct.
"He said he was sincerely sorry that the woman had suffered a fractured arm."
Defence agent Mark Lutton said his client had been suffering from mental health issues in the run up to the assault.
As well as jailing Graham, Sheriff Paul Haran imposed a non-harassment order that bans him from any contact with the woman for five years.
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