A MAN who was jailed for repeatedly punching his partner in the face during a drink-fuelled argument has been told to “grow-up” by a judge.

Judge Christopher Parker also told ill-tempered Christopher Byrne he would “go down for a long time” if he appeared before him again having hit a woman.

He sentenced the 28-year-old to 15 months imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to assault and breaching a suspended sentence – from a previous assault on the same victim.

During a hearing at Southampton Crown Court this week, Judge Parker was told how Byrne had punched his partner “four of five times” in the face in October last year.

The court heard how the pair had shared a bottle of gin at his partner’s home in Chamber's Avenue before tempers began to flare.

An argument ensued, leading Byrne’s victim to call the police.

However the conversation ended abruptly and officers were dispatched to the address in Romsey, after tracking the dropped call.

Police found the victim with marks and bruises on her face and she was later taken to hospital for treatment.

Byrne denied the assault in two statements to police, the second of which was made after he was told of a 999 recording in which he was heard saying he had “slapped” the victim.

Defending, Susan Ridge, said Byrne was unaware of the emergency call.

He said that the term "slapped" referred to a previous assault in June 2017, for which Byrne was given an 18-month suspended sentence.

Meanwhile, his victim emailed police asking to drop the charges, but instead office pushed the case forward to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Prosecuting, Christopher Wing, read out Byrne’s long history of crime, which dated back as far as 2006.

He said how over that period, Byrne had received 25 convictions for 65 offences, including theft, assault, and criminal damage.

In mitigation, Ms Ridge said the incident was “very regrettable” and that Byrne’s guilty plea was probably “his best mitigation”.

She added that Byrne had been advised to get help to learn how to control his anger.

Judge Parker sentenced Byrne, of Allan Grove, Romsey, to 15 months imprisonment – including a year for breaching his suspended sentence.

He said: “You are 28-years’-old and in your comparatively short life you have put together a long history of violence, anti-social behaviour and non-compliance with community orders.

“You have a short fuse and you respond with violence and on this occasion violence against a woman, which is literally unforgivable.

“At your age you need to grow up.

“If you come back in front of me having beaten a woman you will go down for a long time.”