AN angry man pushed over his ex-wife in the street then punched and slapped her during a row over what time she picked up their children.

Lucas North, aged 49, of Richmond Road, Malvern, admitted assault by beating against ex-wife Michele Awuye and of threatening behaviour towards a good samaritan who tried to intervene on her behalf.

North appeared before Worcester magistrates on Monday where it was said the publicist had a ‘volatile’ and ‘turbulent’ relationship with his ex-wife.

Following a disagreement over childcare at Victoria Park in Malvern on June 6, Mark Johnson, prosecuting, said: “The defendant pushed the injured party with considerable force to her chest.

“That caused her to fall to the floor.”

She then tried to rise again but was pushed to the floor a second time.

Mr Johnson said: “He grabbed her by the hair and punched her to the right hand side of her head behind her ear.” She suffered visible reddening and soreness.

At this point Paul Griffiths had become concerned and called the police.

North later returned and described his ex-wife’s new boyfriend as ‘a whore’ and said to her ‘you’re a liar’ and ‘other derogatory terms’ before slapping her hard in the face.

Mr Griffiths was frightened at one point North was going to deliver a headbutt.

Mr Griffiths told him ‘you can’t do that!” Mr Johnson said: “The defendant makes very graphic threats towards Mr Griffiths as to what will happen if he gets involved.

“He says ‘I’m going to break your neck’ and that he would have to look for him for the rest of his life.”

Barry Newton, defending, said the couple was now divorced.

He said it was ‘to his eternal shame’ that he ended up before the court and that he had ‘lost his temper’.

Michele Awuye said she was ‘fully supportive of police’ and willing to attend court but would rather the case did not get that far.

However, she wanted him to admit what he had done.

The case was adjourned until Monday for sentencing.