A POLICE officer has described being helpless to protect a terrified Cheltenham woman from being badly beaten with a clothes horse by her partner.

Gloucester Crown Court was told on Friday that Pc Marcus Forbes-George was unable to get into a Cheltenham property where he had witnessed the assault taking place through a window.

In the dock, Ricky Smith, 29, of Moat Way, Malvern, admitted assaulting the woman in Cheltenham causing her grievous bodily harm on July 22, 2018 and assaulting a police officer on the same occasion

The court was told that Smith had started a relationship with Yasmin Layborne-Davis in May 2018 but over the ensuing months he began to take a controlling interest in her life.

Prosecutor Janine Wood said: “When Smith said to Ms Layborne-Davis he loved her in mid-July, she didn’t reply and this set him off on a verbal rant.

“On July 15 they met in a pub and had an argument which ended up with Ms Layborne-Davis telling him not to talk to her again as she wanted to end the relationship.

“Over the next few days Smith bombarded her with text messages and she agreed to see him as she wanted to see one of her friends in the same area as well.

“After returning from Smith’s mother’s home he began telling her what to wear and stated, ‘you see more of your mates that me’.

“The couple start drinking vodka together and Smith began to get upset about his court fines and started to inject himself with steroids.

“The next thing she knows, it’s a few hours later and she is being helped outside by police officers and she discovers that she has blood running from a gash above her eyebrow.”

The prosecutor then explained to the court about the missing hours and said: “The police were called to the address at 9pm, but Pc Forbes-George is unable to gain access into the building but hears a man shouting and a woman screaming.

“He gets to see Smith through a window, smashing a glass in a threatening manner and then witnesses him hitting Ms Layborne-Davis with a metal clothes horse and observes she immediately starts bleeding.

“When Smith repeated his attack on the woman and smashing a window, Pc Forbes-George called for more officers to attend the incident. The front door was forced open and Smith was wrestled to the ground while police officers escorted Ms Layborne-Davis outside.

“Smith told the police officers that he was a boxer and continued to be aggressive and assaulted Pc Forbes-George. He was eventually bought under control and he stated that Ms Layborne-Davis was a cow and that she had obtained her injuries when she fell over.”

Pc Forbes-George said in his statement to the court: “Smith’s controlling mannerism was nothing short of despicable.

“I felt helpless not being able to protect the woman. I’d never witnessed so much fear in a woman’s face ever before.”

Gerry Bermingham defending said: “Smith is now clear of steroids, but still suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He has used his time well in prison and has obtained an NVQ in warehouse management.

“He has come to terms with himself and strives to overcome the tensions of the past. He is remorseful about what he has done and has learnt his lesson.”

The court was told that Ms Layborne-Davis needed ten stitches in her wound and that the impact of the assault has stayed with her as she now feels it has affected her personality.

Judge Recorder Paul Dunkels QC invited Ms Layborne-Davis to stand in front of him and he saw for himself the extent of the scarring on her face.

Judge Dunkels said to Smith: “I have to sentence you for assault by beating. You violently struck Ms Layborne-Davis and unsurprisingly it has left her with a feeling of insecurity.

“It has also left her with physical evidence of scarring on her face.

“You have a large number of assault convictions, mostly against women in a controlling nature.”

The judge sentenced Smith to three years in prison for the assault charges and 18 weeks in prison for breaching a suspended sentence.

He also imposed a 10-year restraining order on Smith not to contact Ms Layborne-Davis by any means and he ordered that Smith should pay a victim surcharge.