A QUEDGELEY man who kicked a woman in the face and hit her with a baseball bat in her own home was jailed for six months today.
Luke Workman attacked Catherine Hellewell as she fought with his wife, Natalie Bitchenor, Gloucester Crown Court heard.
During the violence in Miss Hellewell's home in Westward Road, Stroud, her hamster Peanut died from shock when its cage was struck, probably by Workman's bat.
Workman, aged 24, of Saddlers Road, Quedgeley, was convicted by a jury last month of assaulting Miss Hallewell causing her actual bodily harm and kidnapping her partner, Robin Bolton.
Bitchenor, aged 23, of Dunlin close, Quedgeley, who has now separated from Workman, was also convicted of the kidnap and of stealing Miss Hellewell's mobile phone during the incident.
She was sentenced today to a 12 months community order with 150 hours of unpaid work.
During the trial the jury heard that Bitchenor's sister had been in a relationship with Mr Bolton but he left her shortly after their baby was born.
He quickly struck up a new relationship with Miss Hellewell and was living with her at the time of the attack on October 24 last year.
The court heard that Bitchenor's sister had been receiving allegedly unpleasant texts from Miss Hellewell so she decided to take matters into her own hands.
She and Workman lured Mr Bolton out of the flat by saying he was required to look after his baby.
When he met them outside a fish and chip shop in Stroud, Workman allegedly tapped him on the head with a baseball bat to make him get in their car,
They then demanded to know Miss Hellewell's address and when Mr Bolton told them they drove there.
Bitchenor went into the flat and got into a hair-pulling fight with Miss Hellewell - at which point Workman intervened.
Today the judge, Mr Recorder Nicholas Rowland, read pre-sentence reports on Bitchenor and Workman before sentencing them.
For Bitchenor, Jon Holmes said the conviction looked likely to cost her the job she had done for the last five years caring for vulnerable people. She faces a disciplinary hearing at work next Tuesday.
The kidnap had been for a very short period indeed, he submitted.
Mr Holmes said it was most unlikely that she would ever offend or appear before a court again.
For Workman, David Parker concerned that the only reason he assaulted Miss Hellewell was because she was on top of his wife on the floor of the flat and he was concerned for her safety.
He conceded that Miss Hellewell had suffered a black eye and had been struck a number of blows.
"Fortunately there was no serious injury," he said.
He told the court Workman had ended his marriage to Bitchenor after the incident because he did not want to have any further involvement in family feuds.
Workman had been a welder for the last three years and was desperately worried about losing his job and not being able to find another if he was jailed, said Mr Parker.
He had threatened to kill himself if he went to jail because he felt so strongly about it, he added.
Recorder Rowland told Workman that notwithstanding the suicide threat he had to jail him because the assault offence was so serious.
"Miss Hellewell was on the ground and you kicked her at least 3-4 times to the side of the face and you struck her on the lower leg with the bat," the Recorder said.
To Bitchenor, the Recorder said "You have been doing an extremely valuable job for five years but all that is in jeopardy because of what you did in this moment of madness."