A drunken thug who attacked his girlfriend in front of their children has been jailed for 14 months.

Jason Bristow, 21, was seven months into a suspended sentence for using a knuckle duster to hit a man when he launched the prolonged attack.

Claire Marlow, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court today that Karen Houghton had two children by the defendant and expected him to visit her Pinehurst home on Friday May 4.

When he failed to turn up she called him and he said he was in the pub having a few beers and would be round later.

Again he failed to show up and she finally got hold of him again shortly before 1am the following morning when he was aggressive to her over the phone.

A short while later he came through the front door and she could tell he was angry and obviously drunk.

He became increasingly angry and started to punch kitchen units, knocking a cabinet door off, before throwing the tumble dried across the room smashing its door.

During the fit of rage he flipped between apologising for what he was doing and being more violent.

Miss Houghton was so scared she locked herself in the bathroom but came out when her one year old daughter woke up.

She fled outside after Bristow threw a carton of milk at her as she held the baby and he followed her shouting abuse before chasing her causing her to fall, still holding the child.

He pulled her up by the hair before coming out with the three-year-old saying he was going to take her to his mother's if she didn't come in.

Once inside she phoned her mum and as she was on the phone the burly thug punched her in the mouth then kicked her.

The couple were outside when Miss Houghton's brother Gary and their taxi driver step father arrived in his cab.

Gary was holding the older child when Bristow ran at him, jumped on him and hit him to the head.

The step father split them up and as Gary went to get in the cab Bristow kicked the door causing a dent and striking his victim.

When he was questioned about the matter he refused to comment to the police.

Bristow, of The Bakers Arms, Beechcroft Road, pleaded guilty to two counts of common assault and two of criminal damage.

The court herd that in October last year he was put on a one year jail term suspended for 18 months for actual bodily harm.

Victim Jason Livingstone had been leaving a club on Fleet Street when he heard someone shout You big fat lesbian' before striking him on the face.

The blow caused a hole in his nose, which was also fractured, and Bristow was found to have inflicted it with a knuckle duster.

He insisted that he only had the weapon because he had taken it from a friend to prevent trouble earlier on.

Miss Marlow said that the victim worked as a model so the assault affected his ability to work.

James Tucker, defending, said his client was ashamed of what he had done and accepted he was facing a prison term.

He said when he was sentenced last year he was told to go on an anger replacement course but that had still not got underway.

Judge Douglas Field jailed him for four months for the common assaults and criminal damage with ten months consecutive of the suspended sentence.

He told him "This was a disgraceful incident. You went round to this house drunk and there was a prolonged period where you subjected this young woman to real fear and your young children were present."