A MAN who hit his pregnant girlfriend so hard it gave her a triple skull fracture has been convicted of assault causing grievous bodily harm.

Swindon Crown Court heard yesterday that 21-year-old Christopher Wood's then girlfriend, Kim Taylor, was three months pregnant with the couple's baby when Wood assaulted her.

Their relationship was said to have been deteriorating for some time and they were having an increasing number of rows.

The assault happened after the couple had been arguing all day, the court heard.

When Wood returned to their flat on the evening of October 7 last year, the court heard, he was hit three times by Miss Taylor and had a plant pot thrown at him.

Defending, Marcus Davey said that his client assaulted Miss Taylor after a momentary loss of self-control.

Wood, who currently lives in Ramsbury Avenue, Penhill, showed immediate remorse and was said to have been in a state of distress when police officers arrived.

He caused the injury to his girlfriend by striking her with either his palm or his fist across the face, said Mr Davey.

She needed surgery after the attack and also suffered a gash to the other side of her face when she fell and struck it against a wall.

Wood initially pleaded not guilty to the offence but changed his plea to guilty on the eve of yesterday's trial.

He was released on bail to return to Swindon Crown Court for sentencing on September 6, after a report is compiled about him.

The court heard that it was not the first time that Wood had been convicted of GBH.

In August 1999, when he was 18, he appeared in court charged with robbery, GBH and destroying property and he was sentenced to two and half years in a young offenders' institution.