'At first she thought it was in jest.. but when she began to struggle to breathe, it became clear it was not'

A brute smashed his girlfriend's head against a chest of drawers, bit her on the neck and strangled her until she passed out during a petty row about his mobile phone charger. Father-of-two Sebastian Elgie, 29, grabbed the woman by her hair when she told him she wanted to go home.

During the savage assault, mechanic Elgie pulled her to the floor causing her to hit her head on a drawer. He then mauled and throttled her by putting her in a headlock - and spat on her as she struggled to breathe, a court heard.

She came around and fled the property in Alsager, near Crewe in Cheshire. Police were said to have 'swarmed' on Elgie's home after officers met up with the woman at a nearby railway station.

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She suffered a lump to her head plus various injuries including a bite mark to her neck. Elgie later accepted his behaviour was 'totally unacceptable and inexcusable', but claimed he had childhood problems which had carried over into adulthood.

At Chester Crown Court, Elgie, of Englesea Way, Alsager, was jailed for 23 months after he pleaded guilty to intentional strangulation; and assault occasioning actual bodily harm following the attack on August 7 last year. He was also banned from contacting her for 10 years under the terms of a restraining order. No evidence was offered on charges of assault, criminal damage and engaging in controlling behaviour.

Michael Whitty, prosecuting, said they had been in a relationship for 'a relatively short period of time after they met last summer. "At first things were good, but she describes the dynamic as beginning to deteriorate," he said.

"The offences appeared to have arisen over an inconsequential