A MAN was handed a suspended sentence for assaulting his girlfriend.

Michael O’Shea pleaded guilty to the incident at their home in Benfleet on June 1, as well as criminal damage and assault on June 12 while he was on bail for the first offence.

Magistrates sitting at Southend heard the victim, Charlotte Ayling, had been painting the kitchen while O’Shea was in the garden.

The court was told O’Shea, now of Sunnedon, Basildon, came indoors angry and shouting, accusing her of not doing anything.

Ms Ayling laughed and carried on tidying up but O’Shea started insulting her calling her fat.

Then O’Shea pushed her up against a wall then pushed her again and she fell on the floor. Ms Ayling managed to call police but as she was on the phone to officers O’Shea jumped on her back.

He then walked out with her phone and her keys but was arrested later.

O’Shea, 24, was released on bail shortly afterwards and was told not to contact Ayling but on June 11 he turned up at her house.

She didn’t let him but he said: “You have three seconds to open the door, or I’m going to kick it in”.

After banging on the door again, he left, but returned the next day and forced his way in before pushing her causing her to fall against a sofa and damaging a phone charger.

Simon Samuels, mitigating, said: “He recognises his situation can’t continue.

“He has gone to his GP to get referred for anger management. He is only 24 and he comes across as quite an immature 24-year-old.”

O’Shea pleaded guilty to two counts of assault by beating, damaging the phone charger worth £15 and using abusive language.

Unemployed O’Shea was handed a 14-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months and ordered to pay £85 costs and an £80 victim surcharge.

The cash will be deducted from his Employment Support Allowance.

The court also imposed a restraining order banning him from contacting Ms Ayling for two years.