A PARANOID man attacked his partner believing she was having an affair, a court has heard.

Michael Thomas Robert Ramshaw admitted assaulting a woman by beating and causing criminal damage to property when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford.

Ramshaw and the victim had been in a relationship for 11 years at the time of the assault, prosecutor Eleanor Peart said.

He had been drinking and, believing she had been having an affair, woke her up at 5am on March 18 asking her to unlock her phone, before grabbing her by the hair and by her pyjamas and throwing the phone at a wall, causing it to shatter.

In a police interview, Ramshaw said he had drunk a bottle of wine that night and had asked the victim to unlock her phone, but had found no messages or calls between her and the person he suspected her of having an affair with.

In a statement, the victim said she had not been able to sleep after the attack and has contacted her GP for help with anxiety.

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Emma Thorne, for Ramshaw, said the 29-year-old was utterly devastated by the situation he finds himself in.

"It is fair to say there was quite a lot of build-up to this," Mrs Thorne said.

"They have had trust issues for some time and it got to a point on the evening of this incident where it resulted in an argument and he drank a bottle of wine, which is unusual for him, and slept on the sofa.

"He woke at 5am, went into the bedroom, and got into bed and the argument resumed. This led to him throwing the phone at the wall in anger and pulling her hair. He has entered his guilty pleas saying he never intended to cause her any harm."

Mrs Thorne said the pair had both gone about their days after the argument ended, with the police called much later that day.

The court heard Ramshaw, who works as a production manager, has a number of mental health issues and had not been taking his medication at the time, but is now engaging in therapy.

"This was perhaps not helped by the alcohol, and his paranoia was in overflow," Mrs Thorne said.

Ramshaw, who said he is currently of no fixed address, was fined £215 and ordered to pay costs of £135 and a £34 victim surcharge. No separate penalty was imposed for criminal damage as the court heard he was paying for the phone contract.