POLICE called to a domestic violence incident found a distraught woman had been assaulted and had bitten her partner's nose in self-defence.

When 44-year-old Paul Archer carried out the assault on Carol Luxton he was already the subject of a community rehabilitation order imposed for a previous assault on his ex-wife, Swindon magistrates heard.

And the court heard he was already attending a domestic violence programme.

The officers who arrived at the house in Swindon Road, Stratton, saw injuries on the victim's mouth and legs and arrested Archer.

When they interviewed him later he told police she had accused him of preferring to spend time with his ex-wife than her. In turn he then accused her of sleeping with other men.

The row escalated and he started packing to leave.

She offered to help him pack and when he refused her assistance she goaded him, saying "Go on, hit me," he claimed.

He admitted hitting her in the stomach and said the injury to her mouth was caused when he crushed a pack of tablets in her face. She had attempted suicide in the past and he was worried about her, he said.

Stephen Weighell, defending, said his client was missing Ms Luxton and was hoping to get back together with her after the hearing.

He asked the bench to adjourn the hearing for a pre-sentence report because Archer had been attending the domestic violence programme.

Archer, of Swindon Road, Stratton, who is on incapacity benefit, was granted conditional bail until September 16, when he is due to be sentenced.

Tina Clarke