A JEALOUS husband who discovered another man had formed an “attachment” to his partner attacked him, repeated punching him and smashing a coffee cup over his head.

Nigel Stuart Burton’s carried out what a prosecutor said was a “revenge” attack after discovering the victim had gone to a property in Penrith on the evening of December 11 last year, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

Burton, 38, of Brentfield Way, Penrith, admitted and actual bodily harm assault. Prosecutor Gerard Roberson described what happened.

Explaining the background, he confirmed that the defendant had discovered that the victim had formed “an attachment” to his wife. At 11pm, the man involved turned up at the flat which was the home of a woman a court had banned him from seeing.

“Due to the circumstances that night, she agreed to let him stay at the flat because she felt she could not leave him homeless,” said the prosecutor.

The woman’s partner was not happy about this, but his attitude softened when he noticed that the man was in tears.

The woman noticed that the defendant’s partner kept calling the man and there was clearly a discussion going on.

The defendant’s partner spoke to the woman to get the man out because the defendant and another man were on their way and they were going to “beat him up.

At 11.20pm, there was a loud bang on the window and the flat owner went outside to find Burton was there. He pulled her outside and then slammed the door on her. From outside, she could hear shouting and loud noises.

Burton's wife arrived and shouted for him to get out of the flat. When he did eventually leave, the women went in the property and found the man lying on the living room floor, covered in blood and crying.

The flat owner’s boyfriend described how Burton had punched the man in the face repeatedly, and smashed a cup over his head and attacked him with other objects.

He suffered various injuries as a result, including a cut to his nose and swelling to his ear and head. During the assault, the victim fell on to a computer desk, causing £400 worth of damage.

“The assault continued for several minutes,” said Mr Rogerson.

The court heard that Burton has 39 offences on his criminal record, including criminal damage and possession of an imitation firearm.

Marion Weir, defending, said Burton had been struggling with his mental health and there was bad blood him and his victim. Married to the woman to whom the victim became attached, they had been in a relationship for a number of years and on the night in question Burton had taken alcohol.

Miss Weir added: “He believes that if he hadn’t taken that alcohol, he would not have behaved in that way. He recognises that now but he didn’t at the time.”

Burton was grateful for the time he had spent in custody, having used it to further his education. His relationship with his partner was now “back on track”, added the barrister.

Judge Nicholas Barker said of the attack: “That was not a chance encounter. You were fuelled by alcohol; you were fuelled by rage; and you were fuelled by jealousy. You thought [the victim] was connected romantically to your partner.”

There had been a significant degree of premeditation. But the judge recognised that Burton was remorseful for what had been a “sustained and vicious” attack. He jailed the defendant for 18 months.