A BOYFRIEND has admitted “recklessly” assaulting his partner by shoving her away as she tried to intervene in an altercation.

A lawyer representing Jamie Robert Pitt, 27, said he was being attacked by a man when his partner Shona Moore intervened in an attempt to help - only to be shoved out of the way by the defendant.

That instant reaction left her with a bloodied mouth.

Even though Miss Moore did not support a prosecution, Pitt, of Beverley Rise, Harraby, Carlisle, was charged with a common assault.

At the city’s magistrates' court, he admitted the offence on the basis that he had been reckless and had not meant to hurt his partner.

John Moran, prosecuting, said that the victim had given an account of what happened to police but she had not been willing to give officers a formal statement.

The lawyer outlined how the defendant had been at Miss Moore’s mother’s house on December 31 last year when when an altercation flared up between him and another man.

“I was defending myself from attack,” Pitt told the police.

“During the altercation, my partner tried to intervene and I pushed her out of the way with one shove, causing her to fall backwards.

“She was wearing braces and this is what caused her to hurt her mouth. That was the only violence I used against her.

“We’d all been drinking.”

After his arrest, the defendant was granted police bail. He was due to appear in court on January 6 but he failed to appear, thereby committing a Bail Act offence which he also admitted.

Mr Moran said Pitt’s criminal record included four previous offences against people - the most recent one being in 2017. At the time of the offence, Pitt had been under the terms of a community order.

The lawyer said there had also been a number of previous police call outs but the victim did not support action.

Chris Toms, for Pitt, said: “The victim in this matter didn’t want the matter prosecuted.

“She contacted me a week ago and sent me a two page letter. They had been to her mother’s house and everybody had been drinking. The defendant is clear that he was attacked by the other male and there was a struggle going on in the kitchen.

“The victim tried to intervene and the defendant simply shoved her out of the way. It was not in any way a sustained assault. It was an instantaneous thing."

Mr Toms said Miss Moore felt that Pitt was addressing his anger issues and he was deeply regretful about what happened.”

The lawyer added that while in prison on remand the defendant had used his time well, taking courses that included one in woodwork.

After hearing details of the case, magistrates jailed Pitt for 64 days.

They imposed a restraining order to protect the victim which will remain in place until September of this year. Any breach could result in up to five years jail.