A man who beat up his girlfriend so brutally that she could no longer donate a kidney she'd promised to a family member has been spared jail.
Lawrence Fulton, 42, laughed while attacking the woman after they started arguing at her home in Preston, Lancashire on December 27 last year.
He threw her on a bed before punching and headbutting her, proceeding to stamp on her legs and back, heard Preston Crown Court.
The woman was then forced to whisper down the phone as she told police about the attack, reports Lancs Live.
On Monday, Fulton was handed a 10-month prison sentence suspended for two years for ABH (Actual Bodily Harm) with a month to run concurrently for criminal damage.
David Clarke, prosecuting, had told the court of how Fulton was with the woman and their children when they became embroiled in a row.
During the argument, the woman threw the TV remote when Fulton said he wanted to take the children away from the house.
He then started verbally abusing her as she went upstairs, said Mr Clarke, before throwing her on a bed and hitting her.
The woman put her arms up to try and defend herself, but Fulton continued beating her, and called for one of the children to phone the police.
Fulton then pulled her hair and headbutted her before pulling her to the floor and stamping on her legs and back.
He laughed while attacking her, said Mr Clarke, before the woman attempted to go downstairs but was blocked from entering the living room.
Fulton then punched her in the ribs, the court was told.
While he tried to take the children from the house, the woman phoned police and whispered that she was being attacked.
Fulton then got a knife, which he had bought the mum as a Christmas gift, and used it to slash the sleeves off her coat.
Mr Clarke said: "She was petrified. She was fearful for her life."
The woman attended hospital the next day, where she was found to have a suspected broken rib, bleeding to her eye and bruising to her body.
In a victim personal statement, the woman said she was signed off work for anxiety and did not want to leave her house for several days due to the bruising to her face.
She had agreed to be a kidney donor for one of her relatives, but that was no longer possible, she added.
Fulton pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH).
Colette Renton, defending, said Fulton has worked with the Probation Service since the attack, in preparation for a Building Better Relationships course, which he is set to start in January.
Judge Simon Medland KC, sentencing, said: "It is obvious that the relationship between you and the complainant had its truly problematic moments. On occasion you fill yourself up with drink and you lose your temper.
"This wasn't the first time this woman had been your victim. It was in her home and you used a weapon equivalent - a shod foot. There were children in the home and you have recent and relevant convictions."
After passing sentence, the judge said: "Reading the references it is quite clear you are capable of leading a hard working and law abiding life and the letters I have read speak well of you.
"But there is another side to you and it is up to you to keep a lid on that, because if you don't, you will be going to Preston Prison."
